James William MacGauley (c.1806–1867) was an Irish Catholic priest, physicist, and inventor.

Life

MacGauley was born around 1806 into a Catholic family at

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. History Origins Kilmainham's foundation dates ...

, Dublin, where his father Benjamin was a carpenter. After school in Dublin, he went to

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mou ...

to train for the priesthood, where the physicist Nicholas Callan gave him scientific interests. He was a priest at

St. Mary's Church, Dublin St Mary's Church, Dublin is a former Church of Ireland building on the corner of Mary Street and Jervis Street, Dublin, adjacent to Wolfe Tone Square. From the 17th century, the church was a place of worship for parishioners on Dublin's north ...

He then served as professor of natural philosophy to the Board of National Education in Ireland, from 1836 to 1856. As part of his work, he ran a laboratory in

Marlborough Street, Dublin Marlborough Street () is a street in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. Naming The street was named Great Marlborough Street after the 1st Duke of Marlborough, known for his victory at the Battle of Blenheim during the 18th century. In the l ...

, in the Board's headquarters. MacGauley emigrated to Canada about 1856, and was there to around 1865, when he settled in England. He became a member of the council of the Inventors' Institute (of London), and took an active part in the executive committee of that body, and was one of the editors as well as a contributor to their organ, the ''Scientific Review''. At the time of his death, on 25 October 1867, he was also managing director to the Inventors' Patentright Association.

Works

In 1837 MacGaulay worked on an electric interrupter related to that of

Charles Grafton Page Charles Grafton Page (January 25, 1812 – May 5, 1868) was an American electrical experimenter and inventor, physician, patent examiner, patent advocate, and professor of chemistry. Like his more famous contemporaries Michael Faraday and Joseph ...

. It was in a line of development of the

induction coil An induction coil or "spark coil" ( archaically known as an inductorium or Ruhmkorff coil after Heinrich Rühmkorff) is a type of transformer used to produce high-voltage pulses from a low-voltage direct current (DC) supply. p.98 To create the ...

that began with Nicholas Callan, and was taken up by

Golding Bird Golding Bird (9 December 1814 – 27 October 1854) was a British medical doctor and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He became a great authority on kidney diseases and published a comprehensive paper on urinary deposits in 1 ...

, William Neeves and Ernst Neeff by 1840. MacGaulay's trembler interrupter became standard in the

electric bell An electric bell is a mechanical or electronic bell that functions by means of an electromagnet. When an electric current is applied, it produces a repetitive buzzing, clanging or ringing sound. Electromechanical bells have been widely used at r ...

. MacGauley's major published works were: * ''Lectures on Natural Philosophy'', Dublin, 1840; 3rd edit. 1851. * ''The Elements of Architecture'', Dublin, 1846. * ''A Key to the Treatise on Arithmetic . . . used in the Irish National Schools'', Dublin, 1852. * ''A Treatise on Algebra'', Dublin, 1854. He also wrote papers on "Natural Philosophy and Chemistry", which appeared in the ''Reports of the British Association'', the ''

Philosophical Magazine The ''Philosophical Magazine'' is one of the oldest scientific journals published in English. It was established by Alexander Tilloch in 1798;John Burnett"Tilloch, Alexander (1759–1825)" Dictionary of National Biography#Oxford Dictionary of ...

'', the ''Chemical News'', and the ''Scientific Review'', between 1835 and 1867.

Family

MacGaulay left the priesthood around 1856, and on 30 March 1857 married Julia Frances Cahill (daughter of Patrick Cahill) in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The marriage certificate lists him as aged 48, which implies he was born in 1807 or 1808.Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910
database, FamilySearch They had four children.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:MacGauley, James William Year of birth missing 1867 deaths 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Irish physicists Irish inventors 1800s births Scientists from County Dublin Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Christian clergy from County Dublin 19th-century inventors