Anderson, John, 1726-1796, natural philosopher

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Person

Authorized form of name

Anderson, John, 1726-1796, natural philosopher

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        Description area

        Dates of existence

        1726-1796

        History

        John Anderson (1726-1796) was born at Rosneath, Dunbartonshire, the grandson of the Reverend John Anderson (1668-1721), Preceptor to the Duke of Argyll and first minister of St David's Ramshorn Church in Glasgow and son of the Reverend James Anderson, minister of Rosneath. Following the early death of his father, Anderson was brought up by an aunt in Stirling and later attended Glasgow University, where he graduated in 1745. Following employment as tutor to several young gentlemen, Anderson was appointed Professor of Oriental Languages at the College or University of Glasgow in 1755 and transferred to the Chair of Natural Philosophy in 1757.

        Anderson had a wide range of interests - in natural philosophy, natural history, antiquities and ballistics and military engineering - and was a prolific writer and inventor. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society and was a friend of Benjamin Franklin and many other scientists of the day. He installed the first lightning conductor in Glasgow, on the College steeple.

        Glasgow in the 18th century was a centre of the Industrial Revolution and Anderson realised the need to encourage technical education. He gave an evening class in experimental philosophy open to the mechanics in the city, which proved to be so popular that the lecture room had to be twice extended to accommodate the numbers wishing to attend. He was an inspired teacher and was nicknamed 'Jolly Jack Phosphorus' by his students. He was associated with James Watt and encouraged the latter's revolutionary work on the steam engine.

        Anderson found himself often at odds with his colleagues in Glasgow University over matters of governance and their hostility, as he saw it, to new ideas, and some of these disputes ended in lawsuits. In 1795 he drew up a detailed plan in his will for a new University to be founded in Glasgow, which would be 'a place of useful learning'. Even women would be welcome to attend classes. After his death in January 1796 his trustees, although left with insufficient funds, were able to establish Anderson's Institution, which evolved into the present day University of Strathclyde.

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        Relationships area

        Related entity

        Anderson's College, Glasgow (1796-1887)

        Identifier of related entity

        C0046

        Category of relationship

        associative

        Dates of relationship

        1796

        Description of relationship

        John Anderson founded Anderson's Institution (which later became Anderson's College).

        Related entity

        University of Glasgow (1451 to date)

        Identifier of related entity

        C0045

        Category of relationship

        associative

        Dates of relationship

        1757-1796

        Description of relationship

        John Anderson was Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow University.

        Related entity

        St David's Ramshorn Church, Glasgow (1720 to date)

        Identifier of related entity

        C0061

        Category of relationship

        associative

        Dates of relationship

        18th century

        Description of relationship

        John Anderson attended the church in the 18th century and was buried in the crypt.

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        Occupations

        Control area

        Authority record identifier

        P0036

        Institution identifier

        GB 249

        Rules and/or conventions used

        ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families, International Council on Archives (2nd edition, 2003); Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names, National Council on Archives (1997).

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        Dates of creation, revision and deletion

        Created by Victoria Peters, November 2009.

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