Sir john leslie biography
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Sir John Leslie lived from 10 April 1766 to 3 November 1832. He was a physicist and mathematician best remembered for his research into the properties of heat. The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in our Historical Timeline.
John Leslie was born in Largo in Fife. After being educated in local schools, he became a student at the University of St Andrews. He then studied divinity at the University of Edinburgh until 1787. For the next two years he worked as a private tutor to a family in Virginia, before becoming tutor to Josiah Wedgwood's family in Staffordshire in 1791. While working for Wedgwood, Leslie became interested in experimental physics and also produced a translation from French of the Comte de Buffon's Natural History of Birds, which was published in nine volumes in 1793.
The income from the book gave him freedom to further his interests in experimental physics. He gave the first modern account of capillary action in 1802 and froze water using an air-pump in 1810, the first time anyone had produced ice artificially. He published many papers and articles during this period, and in 1804 he published his Experimental Inquiry into the Nature and Properties of Heat, for which he was awarded the Rumford Medal of the Royal Society of London. In 1805 John Leslie was elected to succeed John Playfair as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, despite opposition from some in the church. He went on to publish the two volumes of A Course of Mathematics. Meanwhile, he continued to publish papers on aspects of experimental physics.
In 1819, John Leslie was appointed to the post of Professor of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh University. In 1823 he published the first volume of his Elements of Natural Philosophy. His main contributions to physics were do do with the properties of hea John Leslie was born in Largo, Fife, on 16 April 1766. He studied at St. Andrews University until 1783 or 1784 after which he studied Divinity at Edinburgh University. With strong interests in science however, in 1787 he abandoned the intention of going into the Church. In 1788 his paper entitled On the resolution of indeterminate problems was published by the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1789, Leslie was tutoring in Virginia, North America. On his return to Britain he stayed for a time in London before going to Etruria, Staffordshire, between 1790 and 1792. There he translated The natural history of birds by Comte de Georges Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707-1788), and also published Observations on electrical theories. A short stay in the Netherlands followed, after which he returned to Largo where he studied and conducted experimental research. Leslie invented instruments for use in the study of heat and for meteorology. During his stay in Largo he also travelled to London and in Europe - to Germany and Switzerland, observing glaciers in the latter. In 1805, he was appointed to the Chair of Mathematics at Edinburgh University, and in 1819 he was elected to the Chair of Natural Philosophy at the University. His publications include Experimental inquiry into the nature and properties of heat (1804), Elements of geometry, geometrical analysis and plane trigonometry (1809), Geometry of curve lines (1813), Philosophy of arithmetic (1817), Elements of natural philosophy (1823), and Mathematical treatises. Leslie was knighted in early 1832, and Sir John Leslie died the same year at his estate, Coates, in Fife, on 3 November 1832. This article is a sketch outline biography. Our intention is to flesh it out with further detail in due course. Scottish mathematician and physicist (1766–1832) For other people named John Leslie, see John Leslie (disambiguation). Sir John Leslie, FRSEKH (10 April 1766 – 3 November 1832) was a Scottish mathematician and physicist best remembered for his research into heat. Leslie gave the first modern account of capillary action in 1802 and froze water using an air-pump in 1810, the first artificial production of ice. In 1804, he experimented with radiant heat using a cubical vessel filled with boiling water. One side of the cube is composed of highly polished metal, two of dull metal (copper) and one side painted black. He showed that radiation was greatest from the black side and negligible from the polished side. The apparatus is known as a Leslie cube. Leslie was born the son of Robert Leslie, a joiner and cabinetmaker, and his wife Anne Carstairs, in Largo in Fife. He received his early education there and at Leven. In his thirteenth year, encouraged by friends who had even then remarked his aptitude for mathematical and physical science, he entered the University of St Andrews. On the completion of his course in 1784, he nominally studied divinity at the University of Edinburgh but gained no further degrees. From 1788 to 1789 he spent rather more than a year as a private tutor in a Virginian family, and from 1791 until the close of 1792 he held a similar appointment at Etruria, Staffordshire, with the family of Josiah Wedgwood, employing his spare time in experimental research and in preparing a translation of Buffon's Natural History of Birds, which was published in nine volumes in 1793, which brought him money. For the next twelve years (passed chiefly in London or at Largo, with an occasional visit to the continent of Europe) he continued his physical studies, which resulted in numerous papers contributed by him to Nicholson's Philosophical Journal, Quick Info
Largo, Fife, Scotland
Coates (near Largo), Fife, Scotland Biography
John Leslie's mother was Anne Carstairs from Largo in Fife (about 10 miles south of St Andrews). His father, Robert Leslie, was a joiner and cabinet-maker with some knowledge of mathematics. John had an older brother Alexander who also studied mathematics and John learnt mathematics at home being taught partly by his father and partly by his older brother Alexander. He attended three local schools but his total school education still amounted to no more than a year before he began his university studies.
Leslie entered the University of St Andrews in 1779 at the age of 13. At this time the Scottish Universities competed with the schools for the most able pupils so it is not surprising that he entered university at such a young age. The Regius Professor of Mathematics at St Andrews at the time was Nicholas Vilant, and Leslie studied under him and also under his assistant John West. Leslie's abilities were quickly noticed by the Principal of the University who arranged a scholarship to enable Leslie to continue his studies. It was assumed that once his education was complete that Leslie would join the Church, which was the main occupation for educated boys, and it was on these conditions that the Principal gave the scholarship. While an undergraduate Leslie became friendly with John Playfair who was minister at Liff near Dundee, but an outstanding mathematician. In 1783Playfair left the Church to became a private tutor for five years to Robert and Ronald Ferguson who lived near Kirkcaldy in Fife, and so Leslie in turn became friendly with the wealthy Ferguson family. This friendship proved useful for Leslie who some 25 years later would conduct experiments at the home of the Ferguson broth Sir John Leslie (1766-1832)
John Leslie (physicist)
Early life
Middle years