References
John Tyndall was born on the 2nd August 1820 in Leighlinbridge, County Carlow where his father served as a local police constable. After completing his early schooling in Carlow he began working for the Ordnance Survey as a draftsman in 1839 before immigrating to Great Britain in 1842 to continue his work, later finding employment as a land surveyor for various railway construction companies.
John would go on to become a major figure in 19th century science. He provided the first experimental proof for Pasteur’s germ theory of disease, the first scientific explanation for why the sky is blue, and crucially, was the first to realise the greenhouse warming effect of certain gases. He succeeded Michael Faraday as Director of London’s prestigious Royal Institution laboratory in 1867.
Several modern climate change institutes are named in his honour. He also gave his name to a process of light scattering through finely suspended particles which is universally known as the Tyndall effect. He was also a pioneering expert in the field of glaciology and visited the Alps annually from 1856 till his death. Tyndall Glacier located in Chile and Tyndall Glacier in Colorado are named after him as is Mount Tyndall in California and Mount Tyndall in Tasmania.
He was survived by his wife Louisa Tyndall (née Hamilton) whom he married in 1876. They had no children.
John Tyndall is just one of over 320 characters featured at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum.
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 2nd Aug 1820 | |
| Date of Death | 4th Dec 1893 | |
