Thomas Thomson MD (12 April 1773 – 2 August 1852) was a Scottish chemist and mineralogist whose writings contributed to the early spread of Dalton's atomic theory. His scientific accomplishments include the invention of the saccharometer and he gave

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ...

its current name. He served as president of the Philosophical Society of Glasgow. Thomson was the father of the botanist

Thomas Thomson Thomas Thomson may refer to: * Tom Thomson (1877–1917), Canadian painter * Thomas Thomson (apothecary) (died 1572), Scottish apothecary * Thomas Thomson (advocate) (1768–1852), Scottish lawyer * Thomas Thomson (botanist) (1817–1878), Scottish ...

, and the uncle and father-in-law of the Medical Officer of Health Robert Thomson.

Life and work

Thomas Thomson was born in

Crieff Crieff (; gd, Craoibh, meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins the A823 to Dunfermline. Crieff has becom ...

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nort ...

, on 12 April 1773 the son of Elizabeth Ewan and John Thomson. He was educated at Crieff Parish School and

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Burgh School. He then studied for a general degree at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

to study in

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, mathematics, and

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science. From the ancien ...

from 1787 to 1790. He had a five year break then entered

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

to study medicine in 1795, gaining his doctorate (MD) in 1799. During this latter period he was inspired by his tutor, Professor

Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glas ...

, to take up the study of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

In 1796, Thomson succeeded his brother, James, as assistant editor of the ''Supplement to the Third Edition of the

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'', contributing the articles ''Chemistry'', ''

Mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

'', and ''Vegetable, animal and

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular c ...

substances''. In 1802, Thomson used these articles as the basis of his book ''System of Chemistry''. His book ''Elements of Chemistry'', published in 1810, displayed how volumes of different gasses react in a way that is supported by the

atomic theory Atomic theory is the scientific theory that matter is composed of particles called atoms. Atomic theory traces its origins to an ancient philosophical tradition known as atomism. According to this idea, if one were to take a lump of matter ...

. In 1802 he began teaching Chemistry in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. In 1805 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

Robert Jameson Robert Jameson Robert Jameson FRS FRSE (11 July 1774 – 19 April 1854) was a Scottish naturalist and mineralogist. As Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh for fifty years, developing his predecessor John ...

, William Wright, and

Thomas Charles Hope Thomas Charles Hope (21 July 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a British physician, chemist and lecturer. He proved the existence of the element strontium, and gave his name to Hope's Experiment, which shows that water reaches its maximum density at ...

. Thomson dabbled in publishing, acted as a consultant to the

Scottish excise board HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the ...

, invented the instrument known as

Allan's saccharometer A hydrometer or lactometer is an instrument used for measuring density or relative density of liquids based on the concept of buoyancy. They are typically calibrated and graduated with one or more scales such as specific gravity. A hydrometer ...

, and opposed the geological theories of

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June O.S.172614 June 1726 New Style. – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the father of modern geology, he played a key role ...

, founding the

Wernerian Natural History Society of Edinburgh The Wernerian Natural History Society (12 January 1808 – 16 April 1858), commonly abbreviated as the Wernerian Society, was a learned society interested in the broad field of natural history, and saw papers presented on various topics such as ...

as a platform in 1808. In March 1811, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

and in 1815 was elected a corresponding member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

. In 1813 he founded ''

Annals of Philosophy ''Annals of Philosophy; or, Magazine of Chemistry, Mineralology, Mechanics, Natural History, Agriculture and the Arts'' was a learned journal founded in 1813 by the Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson. It shortly became a leader in its field of comme ...

'' a leader in its field of commercial scientific periodicals. In 1817, he gave silicon its present name, rejecting the suggested "silicium" because he felt the element had no metallic characteristics, and that it chemically bore a close resemblance to boron and carbon. In 1817, Thomson became lecturer in and subsequently Regius Professor of Chemistry at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, retiring in 1841. In 1820, he identified a new

zeolite Zeolites are microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a metal ion or H+. These p ...

mineral, named

thomsonite Thomsonite is the name of a series of tecto-silicate minerals of the zeolite group. Prior to 1997, thomsonite was recognized as a mineral species, but a reclassification in 1997 by the International Mineralogical Association changed it to a seri ...

in his honour. He lived his final years at 8 Brandon Place in Glasgow. He died at

Kilmun Kilmun ( gd, Cill Mhunna) is a linear settlement on the north shore of the Holy Loch, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands.It takes its name from the 7th century monastic community founded by an Irish monk, St Munn (Fin ...

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

in 1852, aged 79. He was buried at

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

in Edinburgh, and there is also a memorial for him at the Glasgow Necropolis.

Family

In 1816, he married Agnes Colquhoun. He was uncle and father-in-law to Robert Dundas Thomson.

Honours

*Fellow of the

(1805) *Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, (1811)

Artistic Recognition

He was portrayed by

John Graham Gilbert John Graham-Gilbert (1794 – 4 June 1866) was a Scottish portrait painter and art collector. Life Graham-Gilbert was born in Glasgow as John Graham, the son of David Graham a West India merchant and co-owner of Graham, Milne & Co who owned a c ...

Selected writings

*''System of Chemistry'' (1802)
''The Elements of Chemistry''
(1810)
''History of the Royal Society, from its institution to the end of the eighteenth century''
(1812)
''An Attempt to Establish the First Principles of Chemistry by Experiment''
(1825)
''History of Chemistry''
(1830)
''A System of Chemistry of Inorganic Bodies''
(1831)
''Chemistry of Animal Bodies''
(1843) *''Outlines of Mineralogy and Geology'' (1836) *''Chemistry'' (article in 7th edition of Encyclopedia Britannia) (1842) From 1813 to 1822 he was Editor of the ''

''.

In culture

In June 2011, Russian artist Alexander Taratynov installed a life-size statue of French architect

Thomas de Thomon Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

(1760–1813) in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. The statue is part of ''The Architects'', a bronze sculptural group depicting the great architects of Russian Empire as commissioned by

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the large ...

and installed in Alexander Park. In 2018 associate of Shchusev Museum of Architecture Kirill Posternak discovered a mistake. Taratynov admitted he used a picture he found on

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...

to base the statue on, and that it was actually an image of the Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson – he blamed Wikipedia for the error but also himself for not checking with a historian to verify it was accurate.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Thomas 1773 births 1852 deaths 19th-century British chemists 19th-century British geologists People from Crieff Burials at the Glasgow Necropolis Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Scottish chemists Scottish inventors Scottish mineralogists People educated at the High School of Dundee Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish encyclopedists Scottish publishers (people) 19th-century Scottish scientists Regius Professors Scottish travel writers