Text: James Bowman Lindsay 1799 - 1862 Born in Carmyllie, near Arbroath, Lindsay was a visionary and pioneer in the field of electricity. Although from a poor farming family, they sent him to St. Andrews University. He perfected the world's first constant electric light, beating both Edison and Swann, who are credited with inventing the light-bulb, by decades. He was also the first to demonstrate wireless telegraphy through water. He is buried in Dundee's Western Cemetery and his memorial, which was erected by public subscription, extols his work thus: "A pioneer of electrical science; foretold the application of electricity as an illuminant, a motive power to replace steam and a substitute for coal in heating. He devised an electric telegraph (1832), suggested welding by electricity, produced a continuous electric light (1835), proposed a submarine transatlantic telegraph (1843), and accomplished wireless telegraphy through water (1853), as a philologist his attainments were extraordinary, in 1828 he began the compilation of a dictionary in fifty languages, uncompleted when he died. An accomplished scientist, a profound student and an earnest Christian." http://www.geo.edinburgh.ac.uk/scotgaz/people/famousfirst322.html http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/centlib/jbl/james.htm http://www.geo.edinburgh.ac.uk/scotgaz/people/famousfirst322.html http://www.clanlindsay.com/james_bowman_lindsay.htm http://www.the-ba.dundee.ac.uk/bapressr.html#19oct2000 http://www.angusanddundee.co.uk/guide/towns/dundee/science.htm http://www.geocities.com/~druidprincess/greatscots.html http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/C7A.HTM http://tahunter.net/scotland/lindsay.htm http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/timeline1799.html http://www.hippo.ru/~jst/invent1.htm

See Also:

Source: