James Gordon Gray (1876 – 6 November 1934) was a Scottish mathematician and physicist.

Life

Grey was born in Glasgow in 1876, the third of eight children of Annie Gordon and Andrew Gray. He was educated at Friars Grammar School, in

Bangor, Caernarvonshire Bangor (; ) is a cathedral city and community in Gwynedd, north Wales. It is the oldest city in Wales. Historically part of Caernarfonshire, the community had a population of 15,060 at the 2021 census, and the built up area had a population o ...

, Wales, where his father was employed by the university. He attended the University College of North Wales until 1899, when his father and family moved back to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. He studied engineering at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, graduating with a BScEng. From 1904, he was employed at a physics lecturer at the University, and received a doctorate (DSc) in 1908. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he assisted with naval and aerial defence. From 1920 to 1934 he was professor of applied physics at the University of Glasgow. In 1909 he was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...

. His proposers were his father, Andrew Gray, William Jack,

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

and

George Chrystal George Chrystal FRSE FRS (8 March 1851 – 3 November 1911) was a Scottish mathematician. He is primarily known for his books on algebra and his studies of seiches (wave patterns in large inland bodies of water) which earned him a Gold Meda ...

. He died in

Dowanhill Dowanhill is an affluent area in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. An upper middle-class residential district, the area generally contains a mixture of terraced townhouses with private communal gardens, detached villas with private grounds an ...

on 6 November 1934.

Publications

*''Dynamics'' (1911) co-written with his father

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, James 1876 births 1934 deaths Scientists from Glasgow People educated at Friars School, Bangor Academics of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish mathematicians Scottish physicists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish electrical engineers British mathematical physicists