David Thomson (physicist)

He was born on 27 November 1817[2] the son of David Thomson a merchant in Leghorn in Italy.

In 1836 he won a place at Trinity College, Cambridge where he gained a BA in 1839 (and was granted MA in 1845).

[3] From 1840 he acted as substitute Professor of Natural Philosophy (Physics) in place of William Meikleham at Glasgow University.

When King's and Marischal College merged in 1860 to create the University of Aberdeen he was kept on as Professor (in preference to the younger James Clerk Maxwell, professor of natural philosophy at Marischal College) but was no longer Sub-Principal.

A marble bust of Thomson by John Hutchison RSA is held by Aberdeen University.