Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy
Encyclopedia
The Jacksonian Professorship of Natural Philosophy is one of the senior chairs in Natural
and Experimental philosophy
at Cambridge University
, and was founded in 1782 by a bequest from the Reverend Richard Jackson.
In 1782 the Reverend Richard Jackson of Tarrington
, Herefordshire, and a former fellow of Trinity College
died, leaving a fifth of the income from his estate to the head gardener of the university's physic garden and the remainder to found the Professorship of Natural and Experimental Philosophy that now bears his name. His will specified the details of the professor with much precision, including that preference should be given to candidates from Trinity and men from Staffordshire
, Warwickshire
, Derbyshire
and Cheshire
, and that any holder must search for a cure for gout!
The will also stated that his lectures should promote "real and useful knowledge" by "showing or doing something in the way of experiment upon the subject undertaken to be treated," and its early holders consequently tended towards the experimental end of the field, such as chemists
and engineers
. More recently, it has been decided that the professorship should permanently be associated with physics
.
The first holder of the position was the mathematician and chemist Isaac Milner
, elected to the post in 1783.
One result of the bequest was that a building was erected to allow public lectures for the professor, as well as the professor of botany. It was the University's first building to be specifically designed for the teaching of science.
Natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature , is a term applied to the study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science...
and Experimental philosophy
Experimental philosophy
Experimental philosophy is an emerging field of philosophical inquiry that makes use of empirical data—often gathered through surveys which probe the intuitions of ordinary people—in order to inform research on philosophical questions This use of empirical data is widely seen as opposed to a...
at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and was founded in 1782 by a bequest from the Reverend Richard Jackson.
In 1782 the Reverend Richard Jackson of Tarrington
Tarrington
Tarrington is a small village in Herefordshire, England located half way between Ledbury and Hereford on the A438 road.-The village:The village has approximately 225 residences and a population, according to the 2001 census, of 506. The village has three main meeting places, the Lady Emily...
, Herefordshire, and a former fellow of Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
died, leaving a fifth of the income from his estate to the head gardener of the university's physic garden and the remainder to found the Professorship of Natural and Experimental Philosophy that now bears his name. His will specified the details of the professor with much precision, including that preference should be given to candidates from Trinity and men from Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
and Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, and that any holder must search for a cure for gout!
The will also stated that his lectures should promote "real and useful knowledge" by "showing or doing something in the way of experiment upon the subject undertaken to be treated," and its early holders consequently tended towards the experimental end of the field, such as chemists
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and engineers
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
. More recently, it has been decided that the professorship should permanently be associated with physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
.
The first holder of the position was the mathematician and chemist Isaac Milner
Isaac Milner
Isaac Milner FRS was a mathematician, an inventor, the President of Queens' College, Cambridge and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics....
, elected to the post in 1783.
One result of the bequest was that a building was erected to allow public lectures for the professor, as well as the professor of botany. It was the University's first building to be specifically designed for the teaching of science.
Jacksonian Professors
- Isaac MilnerIsaac MilnerIsaac Milner FRS was a mathematician, an inventor, the President of Queens' College, Cambridge and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics....
(1783-1792) - Francis WollastonFrancis John Hyde WollastonFrancis John Hyde Wollaston was an English natural philosopher and Jacksonian Professor at the University of Cambridge....
(1792-1813) - William FarishWilliam Farish (professor)William Farish was a British scientist who was a professor of Chemistry and Natural Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, known for the development of the method of isometric projection and development of the first written university examination.- Biography :Farish's father was the Reverend...
(1813-1837) - Robert WillisRobert Willis (engineer)The Reverend Robert Willis was an English academic. He was the first Cambridge professor to win widespread recognition as a mechanical engineer, and first set the scientific study of vowels on a respectable foundation, but now best remembered for his extensive architectural writings, including a...
(1837-1874) - James DewarJames DewarSir James Dewar FRS was a Scottish chemist and physicist. He is probably best-known today for his invention of the Dewar flask, which he used in conjunction with extensive research into the liquefaction of gases...
(1875-1923) - Charles WilsonCharles Thomson Rees WilsonCharles Thomson Rees Wilson, CH, FRS was a Scottish physicist and meteorologist who received the Nobel Prize in physics for his invention of the cloud chamber.- Biography:...
(1925-1935) - Edward AppletonEdward Victor AppletonSir Edward Victor Appleton, GBE, KCB, FRS was an English physicist.-Biography:Appleton was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire and educated at Hanson Grammar School. At the age of 18 he won a scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge...
(1936-1939) - John CockcroftJohn CockcroftSir John Douglas Cockcroft OM KCB CBE FRS was a British physicist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for splitting the atomic nucleus with Ernest Walton, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power....
(1939-1946) - Otto Frisch (1947-1972)
- Alan CookAlan CookSir Alan Hugh Cook FRS was a British physicist who specialised in geophysics, astrophysics and particularly precision measurement.-Early life and family:Cook was born in Felsted, Essex in 1922...
(1972-1990) - Malcolm LongairMalcolm Longair-External links:...
(1991-2008) - James StirlingJames Stirling (academic)Professor William James Stirling CBE, FRS, CPhys, FInstP is Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy, Head of the Cavendish Laboratory, and Fellow of Peterhouse in the University of Cambridge...
(2008-)