NATURE 



33' 



THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 1910. 



lORD KELVIN'S EARLY LIFE. 

 Lord Kelvin's Early Home. Being- the Recollections 



of his Sister, the late jMrs. Elizabeth King; together 



with some Family Letters and a Supplementary 



Chapter by the Editor, Elizabeth Thomson King. 



Pp. xii + 245. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 



1909.) Price 8s. 6d. net. 

 ' I ■'HIS fascinating volume gives us a vivid picture 

 J- of the home life of the remarkable family into 

 which Lord Kelvin was born eighty-five years ago. 

 It is mainly the work of his eldest sister, Mrs. Elizai- 

 beth King, who kept .many notes and casual diary 

 records, and it has been lovingly edited by her 

 daughter, who has added a brief supplementary 

 chapter. Of that family Lord Kelvin was the last 

 survivor. 



Its head was James Thomson, born in 17S6, the 

 son of a farmer in county Down, who died in 1849 

 when professor of mathematics in Glasgow University. 

 His '■ forbears " had come more than a century before 

 from Ayrshire in the "killing time" of Claverhouse, 

 and the farm on which they settled remained in their 

 possession until 1847, when James Thomson's eldest 

 brother was obliged to leave it for Belfast in the 

 distressful days of the Irish famine. 



James Thomson w-as the Benjamin of the country 

 farmhouse. There were four older children, the 

 youngest ten years older than him. His sister taught 

 him to read, "using handkerchiefs with mottoes and 

 verses printed on them composed by the patriots who 

 brought about the rebellion of 1798." He taught 

 himself arithmetic from a dilapidated copy of Bony- 

 castle, with which he fortunately fell in, "not only 

 mastering its contents, but supplying many pages 

 that were wanting." While still very young he was 

 sent to a day school, and he had no other teaching 

 until he went to Glasgow College. Everything 

 about the boy helped him to educate himself. There 

 was an old sundial in front of the house which fas- 

 cinated him, and which he tried to reproduce. But 

 his new dials failed to tell the time of day. One 

 very hot summer night, as he lay awake thinking on 

 the problem in his bed out in a garden-house, the 

 theory of dialling dawned on his mind, and he soon 

 worked it out until he was able to make sundials to 

 be placed horizontally, perpendicularly, or at any 

 angle whatever. Some of the dials he made then 

 still exist. 



He came across the narrow seas to Glasgow College, 

 as many Irish- boys used to do before the Queen's 

 Colleges were set up about 1846. He spenr many 

 winters there, taking his M.A., going through most 

 of the medical classes, and the complete theological 

 course with a view to entering the ministry. But 

 when he left the university he was appointed teacher 

 of arithmetic and geography in the newly established 

 Royal Belfast Academical Institution. In a short 

 time it became a college, having preparatory schools 

 connected with it, and it was the forerunner of 

 Queen's College, Belfast. James Thomson was 

 appointed professor of mathematics in the college, in 

 XO. 2099, VOL. 82] 



addition to his work in the school. He had found his 

 vocation. 



Some time after, when he was thirty-one years of 

 age, he married Margaret Gardiner, daughter of a 

 prosperous Glasgow merchant. She had come across 

 the year before to visit a cousin. Dr. Cairns, a col- 

 league of Dr. Thomson's in the institution. She be- 

 came engaged to Dr. Thomson, and was married the 

 year following. Their wedding journey was through the 

 Highlands. The Scotch bride settled in Belfast, and 

 died there after twelve happy years of married life. 

 James Thomson brought the motherless family of six 

 children to Glasgow University when he was appointed 

 professor of mathematics in 1832. The eldest daugh- 

 ter, Elizabeth, w-hose notes and recollections are the 

 basis of the book, was fourteen when they came to 

 Glasgow ; the youngest, Robert, was three. They had 

 been seven in number when their mother died. After 

 her death, and before they went to Glasgow, the 

 youngest girl, named after her mother, faded and 

 died. Mrs. Thomson's younger sister, Agnes, who 

 had herself married in 1S26, was left in charge 

 of the family, and brought them over to 

 their new home. The family were Elizabeth, aged 

 fourteen ; Anna, aged about twelve ; James, aged ten ; 

 William, aged eight; John, aged six; and Robert, 

 aged four. This younger sister, Agnes — Mrs. Gall — 

 had been brought up in Glasgow by the elder sister, 

 Mrs. Thomson, and felt for her the warm affection of 

 a daughter. 



The sixteen years in Belfast, with the young family 

 growing about his knees, were perhaps the most 

 epoch-making of his life. No family ever owed more 

 to their father and mother. For many years, says 

 the eldest daughter, they had no other teacher, 

 except for French and writing, music and dancing. 

 Dr. Thomson 



' was in the habit of rising at four to work at his 

 books. .Some coffee and cream and a spirit lamp 

 having been put ready for him, he made himself a 

 cup of hot coffee before beginning. In these quiet 

 morning hours he got through an immense amount of 

 work before his professional duties began. His books 

 on arithmetic, mathematics, geography, &c. , went 

 through very many editions which constantly needed 

 revising and bringing up to date, so that he was 

 occupied with them more or less to the end of his life. 

 .\s professor of mathematics, during the winter 

 months he lectured every morning from eight till 

 nine, and from eleven to twelve in the forenoon. In 

 the afternoon he was occupied with his school classes, 

 and these ended he regularly went to the news room 

 and the commercial buildings for a little while. Our 

 mother was always waiting for his return, with the 

 children about her. Very eagerly we listened for his 

 knock, and ran to the door, and helped him to take 

 off his things, and then heard some stories from him 

 of what was going on in the world. .After dinner we 

 children came down again, and a bit of bright burning 

 cannel coal was put on the fire, which blazed up and 

 filled the room with dancing light; the globes were 

 placed on the table, and we gathered round ; little 

 Willie and sometimes James also on the table beside 

 the globes while our father explained their use and 

 taught us to work out problems in them. William 

 was scarcely four when he began to take some part in 

 these cheerful after-dinner lessons, and from the very 

 first he showed the wonderful mental capacity with 



