Joule, James Prescott (–)
James Joule was born in Salford, near Manchester, England, on December 24, He was the second son of a wealthy brewery owner and was educated at home by private tutors. For three years he was fortunate enough to have the eminent British chemist, John Dalton as his chemistry teacher. He never attended a university; as a consequence, while he was bright enough to learn a great deal of physics on his own, he remained, like Michael Faraday, unskilled in advanced mathematics.
Joule had the means to devote his time to what became the passion of his life — obtaining highly accurate experimental results in physics, for which he displayed a precocious aptitude. His genius showed itself in his ability to devise new methods, whenever needed, to improve on the accuracy of his quantitative results.
Joule had no real profession except as an amateur scientist, and no job except for some involvement in running the family brewery. Since his father was ill and forced to retire in , his son had to become more involved in the affairs of the brewery from to , when the brewery was sold by his family. While Joule was working at the brewery, he carried out his experiments b
James Joule (–)
He was the second of five children born to a wealthy brewery owner. As a child, James was weak and shy, and suffered from a spinal disorder. Because of these limitations, he preferred studies to physical activity. Although his spinal problem later improved, it affected him throughout his life.
James was educated at home until he was He then went to work in the family brewery. However, he and his older brother continued their education part-time with private tutors in Manchester.
He saw no contradiction between his work as a scientist and his confidence in the truth of the Bible.
From until , they were taught chemistry, physics, the scientific method, and mathematics by the famous English chemist John Dalton. (Like James Joule, Dalton was a Bible-believing Christian.) James gratefully acknowledged the key role that Dalton played in his becoming a scientist. “It was from his instruction that I first formed a desire to increase my knowledge by original researches,” Joule said.1
When their father became ill, James and his brother took over running the brewery. James therefore did not have the opportunity to attend university. However, his great desire was to
James Joule: from establishment irritant to honoured scientist
James Prescott Joule (–89) is now rightly revered as one of the greatest scientists in the history of physics, due to his groundbreaking work in thermodynamics. However, this was not always the case—in his younger years, Joule struggled to be taken seriously by the scientific establishment.
Who was James Joule?
Born in Salford in , James Prescott Joule was the son of a renowned local brewer and grew up fascinated by all things scientific. He became particularly interested in electricity and was fortunate enough to be tutored by John Dalton, one of the leading chemists of the day and a pioneer of atomic theory.
This expert tutelage, combined with Joule's personal obsession and some brewing know-how (as well as access to some specialised beer-making equipment) would ultimately lead to one of the most ground-breaking (and at the time, controversial) discoveries in the history of science: that heat is a form of energy.
Joule&#;s First Law
In Joule followed in his father's footsteps and became the manager of the family brewery; however, his fa
Joule, James Prescott
(b. Salford, near Manchester, England, 24 December ; d. Sale, England, 11 October )
physics.
Joule’s ancestors were Derbyshire yeomen; his grandfather had become wealthy as the founder of a brewery at Salford. James was the second of five children of Benjamin and Alice Prescott Joule. Together with his elder brother, James received his first education at home. From to the two brothers were privately taught elementary mathematics, natural philosophy, and some chemistry by John Dalton, then about seventy years old.
James never took part in the management of the4 brewery or engaged in any profession. He shared his father’s Conservative allegiance and entertained conventional Christian beliefs. He married Amelia Grimes, of Liverpool, in , but she died in He spent the rest of his life with his two children in various residences in the neighborhood of Manchester. He had a shy and sensitive disposition, and his health was delicate.
Joule’s pioneering experiments were carried out in laboratories he installed at his own expense in his successive houses (or in the brewery). Later, owing to financial losses, he could no longer afford to work on his own and
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