James Clerk Maxwell (1836 – 1879)

    James Clerk Maxwell

James Clerk Maxwell was one of the most famous scientists of the nineteenth century. He was born in Edinburgh in 1831 and became a leading physicist who helped to enable the development of modern physics. This was particularly true in such areas as special relativity and quantum mechanics as well as that of the theory of electromagnetic radiation. This important theory stated that light was electromagnetic radiation going on to to prove this through Maxwell’s equations. He was appointed to the Chair of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College in Aberdeen in 1856. In 1865 James Clerk Maxwell published his “A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field” in which he showed that magnetic and electric fields travelled through space at the speed of light. This showed that radio waves were possible given the connection between electric and magnetic phenomena. Maxwell is also regarded as a founder of electrical engineering as well as for the production of the first colour photograph in 1861. Greatly admired by Albert Einstein he is also regarded by most current physicists as the person who most influenced modern physics.