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John Gough ( ; 17 January 1757 – 28 July 1825) was a blind English natural and experimental philosopher who is known for his own investigations as well as the influence he had on both
John Dalton John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He introduced the atomic theory into chemistry. He also researched Color blindness, colour blindness; as a result, the umbrella term ...
and
William Whewell William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved distinction in both poetry and mathematics. The breadth of Whewell's endeavours is ...
.


Life

John Gough was born in
Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...
,
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...
, on 17 January 1757, the eldest child of Nathan Gough (died 1800) and his wife, Susannah (1731–1798). Gough's father was a wool dyer and shearman dyer, while his mother was the eldest daughter of John Wilson, a prosperous farmer with an estate on the west bank of
Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...
. Nathan and Susannah Gough had three sons and four daughters, one of whom died in infancy. The family belonged to the
Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
, whose communities flourished in
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
and
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...
during this period. Before he was three years old, Gough was attacked by
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
and lost his sight. In his childhood he expended much effort in developing his sense of touch and hearing, and appears to have been especially eager to learn to recognize animals by touch. In 1778 at the age of twenty-one, Gough became a resident pupil of John Slee, a mathematical master at
Mungrisdale Mungrisdale is a small village and civil parish in the north east of the English Lake District in Cumbria. It is also the name of the valley in which the village sits. Mungrisdale is a popular starting point for ascents of the nearby hills, s ...
,
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
. Gough stayed at Mungrisdale for eighteen months, following the traditional curriculum up to the elementary principles of calculus. Returning home he took up calculus, with his second sister, Dorothy Gough (born 1768), acting as his reader. From around 1782 to 1790 he enjoyed the acquaintance of
John Dalton John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He introduced the atomic theory into chemistry. He also researched Color blindness, colour blindness; as a result, the umbrella term ...
, a cousin of George Bewley and also a lakeland
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
, who had come to Kendal to take up a position in Bewley's school. Dalton assisted Gough by reading, writing, and making calculations and diagrams on his behalf. In return Dalton, who later became one of the most eminent figures in nineteenth-century science, was tutored by Gough in Latin and Greek. Dalton later referred to Gough as a "prodigy in scientific attainments." In 1800 at the parish church of Kendal, Gough married Mary (died 1858), daughter of Thomas Harrison of Crosthwaite, Cumberland. On their marriage they moved to Middleshaw in the hamlet of
Old Hutton Old Hutton is a village in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. It is in the civil parish of Old Hutton and Holmescales In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census the parish had a population of 357, increasing at the United Kingdom ...
. John and Mary Gough had nine children, one of whom, Thomas Gough (18041880) became a surgeon in Kendal. In 1812 Gough had a house, which he named Fowl Ing, built for himself and his family on the south-west slope of Benson Knot, a hill 2 miles north-east of Kendal. At about the same time he began to act as a private tutor of mathematics to a select group of pupils from northern England, whom he prepared for university. The subsequent fame of his students superseded his own celebrity. A number of them went on to achieve high distinction in the mathematical
tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...
, and subsequently in the hierarchies of university and church. One of Gough's first students was
William Whewell William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved distinction in both poetry and mathematics. The breadth of Whewell's endeavours is ...
, who was with him in 1812 and later described Gough as "a very extraordinary person." From 1823, John Gough had repeated attacks of epilepsy. He died on 28 July 1825, leaving his wife and seven of their children. He was buried in the parish churchyard of Kendal.


Career

Gough had wide-ranging scientific interests. He published papers in natural history, mechanics, mathematics, chemistry, and experimental physics. One of his most interesting pieces of work was an investigation into the properties of
natural rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...
or
Caoutchouc Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...
. He was the first to describe the heat released when a rubber band is quickly stretched, the heat being detected by the lips to which the band is pressed. When stretched rubber is heated, it contracts, a reversal of the normal behaviour of materials when heated. Gough published these results, and others, in a letter to the
Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, popularly known as the Lit. & Phil., is one of the oldest learned societies in the United Kingdom and second oldest provincial learned society (after the Spalding Gentlemen's Society). Promi ...
in 1804. King has written that through Dalton, Gough exerted an indirect influence years later on
James Joule James Prescott Joule (; 24 December 1818 11 October 1889) was an English physicist. Joule studied the nature of heat and discovered its relationship to mechanical work. This led to the law of conservation of energy, which in turn led to the ...
, who undertook his own investigations into rubber, elasticity, and energy changes, and specifically referred to Gough's earlier studies. The effect eventually became known as the
Gough–Joule effect The Gough–Joule effect (a.k.a. Gow–Joule effect) is originally the tendency of elastomers to contract when heated if they are under tension. Elastomers that are not under tension do not see this effect. The term is also used more generally to r ...
. Gough's most substantive enquiry was "An investigation of the method whereby men judge by the ear of the position of sonorous bodies relative to their own persons", which appeared in 1802 during an ongoing controversy with another former Quaker, the noted natural philosopher Thomas Young, over the nature of compound sounds. Among his works in the natural sciences, he carried out experiments with plants. He had developed the skill of using his upper lip to identify plants by touch, and reported the
hydrosere A hydrosere is a plant succession which occurs in an area of fresh water such as in oxbow lakes and kettle lakes. In time, an area of open freshwater will naturally dry out, ultimately becoming woodland. During this change, a range of different l ...
succession as freshwater lakes dry out and become land. He also described seed banks in soils.


Recognition

Kendal Museum holds a bust of Gough, carved in marble by an unknown artist. It bears the title "John Gough / The Blind Philosopher / 1757-1825". Gough's autobiography, transcribed and annotated by Michael Pearson and Ian D. Hodkinson, was published in 2021 by the
Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society The Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, founded in 1866, is a local historical, antiquarian, archaeological and text publication society and registered charity covering the modern county of Cumbria. Aims The soc ...
with the title ''The Dark Path to Knowledge''.


References


Further reading

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External links


Gough on the thermodynamics of rubber
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gough (Natural Philosopher), John 1757 births 1825 deaths English Quakers 18th-century English naturalists English philosophers of science 18th-century English philosophers 19th-century English philosophers English mathematicians English blind people People from Kendal British scientists with disabilities Blind scholars and academics