The Life of James Clerk Maxwell : With a Selection from his Correspondence and Occasional Writings and a Sketch of his Contributions to Science

This biography from 1882 details the life and thought of influential nineteenth-century physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), a giant in the field of theoretical physics, whose ideas were to have great influence in his own time and also help set the stage for developments in the following century.

James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) was a Scottish physicist well-known for his extensive work with electromagnetism, colour analysis, and kinetic theory. Considered by many to be a giant in his field with significant influence on the physicists who would follow, Maxwell spent time as a professor at Aberdeen University, King's College, London, and Cambridge. This 1882 Life by his friend Lewis Campbell and natural philosopher William Garnett represents an important – and lengthy – investigation into Maxwell's life and thought. Part I is concerned with biographical matters while the second section focuses upon his scientific mind. A third part contains Maxwell's poetry, so included because the poems are 'characteristic of him' and have 'curious biographical interest'. At nearly 700 pages, the Life represents an important starting point for those curious about the state of theoretical physics and the person in whom it reached its culmination in the nineteenth century.