James Clerk Maxwell's Birthplace

Isaac Newton realised that what caused the apple to fall was the very same force moving the moon, planets and stars. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was born in this house, before the family moved to Kirkcudbright. He was intensely curious about how nature worked and made a "great unification" of equal importance to Newton's: that magnetism, electricity, light and heat are all manifestations of the same electromagnetic spectrum. And this spectrum must contain other frequencies beyond human sensing: hence X-rays and radio waves, and the entire science of telecommunications. He made possible Einstein's 20th century unification of gravity, mass and energy, and contributed to many other fields of enquiry. The Foundation has preserved this townhouse with his memorabilia. His statue stands at the east end of George St and a laboratory block is named for him on the Edinburgh University science campus.

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