James Thomson Bottomley 
Biography of James Thomson Bottomley
James Thomson Bottomley was the first holder of the Arnott and Thomson Demonstratorship in Experimental Physics at the University of Glasgow from 1875-1899.
Bottomley was born in Fort Breda, County Down, in 1845, son of William, a merchant and Justice of the Peace in Belfast, and of Lord Kelvin's sister. Bottomley was educated at Queen's College, Belfast, and Trinity College, Dublin, and obtained his BA and MA with first-class honours. His first University appointment was that of assistant to the late Professor Thomas Andrews, at Belfast, and he filled the posts afterwards of Demonstrator, first of Chemistry and then of Physics, in King's College, London. In 1870 he was appointed as Arnott and Thomson Demonstrator at the University of Glasgow, putting him in close collaboration with Lord Kelvin, who was Professor of Natural Philosophy at that time, resigning from his post in 1899, the same year that Lord Kelvin resigned his professorship. He worked as an electrical engineer, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society, Edinburgh, the Chemical Society, and Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and of the Physical Society.
Sources
Printed Materials
- James Thomson Bottomley of Gilmorehill (1909). Who's Who in Glasgow in 1909
Summary
James Thomson Bottomley
Born 10 January 1845.
Died 18 May 1926.
GU Degree:
University Link: Staff
Occupation categories: engineers, electrical; physicists
English snippet: First holder of the Arnott and Thomson Demonstratorship in Experimental Physics at the University of GlasgowRecord last updated: 25th Apr 2013
Country Associations
Northern Ireland, Country Down, Fort Breda
Place of Birth
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