Adam Anderson AM LLD (27 June 1783 – 5 December 1846)Information from gravestone was a Scottish physicist and encyclopedist. He was the rector of

Perth Academy Perth Academy is a state comprehensive secondary school in Perth, Scotland. It was founded in 1696. The institution is a non-denominational one. The school occupies ground on the side of a hill in the Viewlands area of Perth, and is within the P ...

from 1811 to 1839, and Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy 1839 to 1846 at

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

. Anderson designed and supervised the construction of Perth Water Works, and supervised the construction of the royal burgh's gasworks. He contributed original papers on the measurement of the heights of mountains by the

barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

, the hygrometric state of the atmosphere, the

dew point The dew point is the temperature the air needs to be cooled to (at constant pressure) in order to produce a relative humidity of 100%. This temperature depends on the pressure and water content of the air. When the air at a temperature above the ...

, and the illuminating power of coal gas, to ''

Nicholson's Journal ''A Journal of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and the Arts'', generally known as ''Nicholson's Journal'', was the first monthly scientific journal in Great Britain. William Nicholson (chemist), William Nicholson began it in 1797 and was the edito ...

'', vol. xxx. 1812, to Thomson's '' Annals of Philosophy'', vol. ix. 1817, and to the ''

Edinburgh Philosophical Journal The ''Edinburgh Philosophical Journal'' was founded by its editors, Robert Jameson and David Brewster in 1819 as a scientific journal to publish articles on the latest science of the day. In 1826 the two editors fell out, and Jameson continued pub ...

'', vols. ii, iv, xi, xii, xiii, &c. The Perth gasworks were originally constructed under his superintendence, and he introduced many improvements leading to the economical production of gas. He wrote the articles "Barometer", "Cold", "Dyeing", "Fermentation", "Evaporation", "Hygrometry", "Navigation", and "Physical Geography" in Brewster's ''

Edinburgh Encyclopædia The ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' is an encyclopaedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830. In competition with the Edinburgh-published ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the ''Ed ...

'' (completed 1830), and the article "Gaslight" in the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''. He died on 5 December 1846, aged 63, and is buried in the south-east section of

Greyfriars Burial Ground Greyfriars Burial Ground is an historic cemetery in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Perth, Scotland. Dating to 1580, it is now Category A listed building, listed, with its collection of gravestones considered one of the best in Scotland. The cemetery ...

in Perth.

References

;Specific ;General *
Adam Anderson
–

Dictionary of Scottish Architects The Dictionary of Scottish Architects is a publicly available online database that provides biographical information about all architects known to have worked in Scotland between 1660 and 1980, and lists their works. Launched in 2006, it was comp ...

;Attribution Scottish science writers Scottish physicists Scottish meteorologists Scottish encyclopedists 1846 deaths 19th-century Scottish people Academics of the University of St Andrews 1783 births Scottish schoolteachers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of St Andrews People from Perth, Scotland 19th-century British physicists 19th-century Scottish scientists 19th-century Scottish educators {{UK-physicist-stub