John Anderson (26 September 1726 – 13 January 1796) was a Scottish

natural philosopher Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the developme ...

and liberal educator at the forefront of the application of science to technology in the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, and of the education and advancement of working men and women. He was a joint founder 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 ...

, and was the posthumous founder of Anderson's College (later Anderson's Institution), which ultimately evolved into the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

Early life and career

Anderson was born at the manse at

Rosneath Rosneath () is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of the Gare Loch, northwest of the tip of the Rosneath Peninsula. It is about by road from the village of Kilcreggan, which is sited on the southern shore ...

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...

, the son of Margaret Turner (d. 1784) and Rev James Anderson"Anderson, John" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 1, p. 409. His father and grandfather were prominent ministers of the church. After his father's death he was raised by his aunt in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, where he attended grammar school. He graduated with an MA from 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 ...

in 1745. During the

Jacobite Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

he served as an officer in the Hanoverian Army. From 1755 to 1757 he was Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the

, and from 1757 to 1796 Professor of Natural Philosophy. He is the longest-serving natural philosophy lecturer during the 18th century.

A scientist

In 1760, Anderson was appointed to the more congenial post of professor of natural philosophy at the University of Glasgow. He began to concentrate on

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. He had a love of experiments, practical mechanics and inventions. He encouraged

James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was f ...

in his development of steam power. He was acquainted with

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

, and in 1772 he installed the first

lightning conductor A lightning rod or lightning conductor (British English) is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it is most likely to strike the rod and be conducted ...

in Glasgow. Anderson also wrote the pioneering textbook '' Institutes of Physics'' published in 1786, which went through five editions in ten years. He was elected a

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

and this brought him into contact with many of the scientists of the day.

A supporter of vocational education for working people

His greatest love though was in providing "useful learning" to the

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

, especially in the application of science to industry. He did this alongside his University duties, by providing non-academic lectures for artisans during the evenings. In these popular lectures he concentrated on experiments and demonstrations, and from his predilection for setting off explosions and fireworks, he acquired the nickname "Jolly Jack

Phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

Radical politics

Anderson was also known for his radical political views and was a supporter of the French Revolution. In 1791 he invented a new type of six-pound gun, which was presented to the

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

in Paris as "the gift of Science to Liberty". While he was in France, neighbouring Germany, fearing the spread of radical politics to its territory, imposed a blockade on French newspapers. Anderson suggested sending

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...

s on the wind to Germany attached to small

hydrogen balloon Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all normal matter. Under standard conditions, hydrogen is a gas of diatomi ...

s, and this was done, with each balloon bearing an inscription translated as "O'er hills and dales, and lines of hostile troops, I float majestic, bearing the laws of God and Nature to oppressed men, and bidding them with arms their rights maintain."

Founder of a university

Building on the lectures for artisans, he bequeathed his property for the foundation of a school in

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 ...

devoted to "useful learning", called Anderson's Institution or Andersonian University. As an example of its success it enabled a young millworker,

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

, to become a famous missionary doctor and the foremost explorer of his day. The Institution underwent various name-changes and a number of mergers with other colleges before arriving at its current form as the

, which honours Anderson in the name of the physics building and the main library, the Andersonian Library. The city centre campus is named the

John Anderson Campus The John Anderson Campus, the main campus of Strathclyde University, The University of Strathclyde, is in Glasgow, Scotland. The campus is self-contained in its own area which straddles the Townhead and Merchant City districts on the north eas ...

. John Anderson died in Glasgow at the age of 69. He is buried with his grandfather in

Ramshorn Cemetery The Ramshorn Cemetery is a cemetery in Scotland and one of Glasgow's older burial grounds, located within the Merchant City district, and along with its The Ramshorn, accompanying church, is owned by the University of Strathclyde. It has had v ...

on Ingram Street in Glasgow. On 13 January 1996 representatives from the University of Glasgow laid a wreath to mark the bicentennial of Anderson's death.

References

Significant Scots: John Anderson FRS
at ElectricScotland.com retrieved 31 October 2007.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John HD 1726 births 1796 deaths People from Rosneath Academics of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Enlightenment scientists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Founders of Scottish schools and colleges People associated with the University of Strathclyde People of the Scottish Enlightenment 18th-century Scottish antiquarians Scottish educators Scottish inventors Linguists from Scotland Scottish orientalists Scottish physicists 18th-century Scottish non-fiction writers 18th-century Scottish male writers Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 18th-century British philanthropists