One of Scotland's greatest minds remembered on 200th anniversary of birth

The 200th anniversary of the birth of one of Scotland’s great thinkers is to be marked at the university where he forged his name and influence.

William Thomson, better known as Lord Kelvin, was an exceptional scientist whose solutions to theoretical problems in physics and ingenious inventions are claimed to have transformed modern life.

Born in June 1824, Lord Kelvin had a 53-year career at the university with his groundbreaking work on thermodynamics leading to the development of the absolute temperature scale, which is now known as the Kelvin scale. He played a key role in laying the first transatlantic telegraph cable, inaugurating the age of intercontinental communications, and made important contributions to the study of electricity and magnetism. He filed 70 patents during his lifetime for inventions including the Kelvin compass, which helped improve maritime navigation.

Lord Kelvin had an association with Glasgow University for more than 50 years. PIC: Contributed.

Glasgow University will hold a series of public events and activities linked to Kelvin’s life and work to mark his bi-centenary.

Professor Miles Padgett, the Kelvin Chair of Natural Philosophy in the School of Physics & Astronomy, said: “I’m proud to hold the position that celebrates Kelvin, one of the University’s most remarkable inventors and innovators, and whose example continues to inspire scientists and engineers around the world today.

“I think Kelvin himself would be proud of our research at the University of Glasgow today. All across the University, just like Kelvin, we’re working to turn pure science into innovative technologies that impact on the real world, making better medical devices, next-generation communications, new net-zero technologies and more.

“I hope that people will join us on campus throughout June and beyond to celebrate Kelvin by seeing our rich collection of artifacts and artwork inspired by his historic legacy, and hearing about his life and work from expert speakers.”

From June 8, visitors will be able to learn more about Kelvin’s work through displays of rarely-seen artefacts from the University’s Special Collections, and learn more about some of his lesser-known achievements, including his solution for the most efficient space-filling shape.

Kelvin’s achievements in precision measurement will be celebrated in the context of the cutting-edge science of today with two public lectures from speakers from the worlds of physics and engineering.

On June 25, Nobel laureate Professor Takaaki Kajita will give a talk on measuring neutrinos and gravitational waves with these achievements in high-precision measurements following in the footsteps of Lord Kelvin’s own measurement breakthroughs.

The following day, Dr Daniel Mitchell of the IEEE History Centre will further explore Kelvin’s work in measurements and quantification and how it formed a principal theme uniting many of his achievements in science and engineering.

Kelvin was a Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University from 1846 to 1899, teaching over 7,000 students from all over the world.

In 1904, Kelvin was elected Chancellor of the University of Glasgow. He held this position until 1907, remaining dedicated to his work up until 3 weeks before his death.

He was one of both the youngest and oldest matriculated student of the University, first registering as a student when he was only ten years old, and again when he retired at 75.