James Clerk Maxwell's Scottish chair.
This account of Maxwell as professor of natural philosophy at Marischal College, Aberdeen, fills in many details that have been left out of Maxwell's biographies. It discusses the degree programme that Maxwell taught on, the nature of his colleagues, the type of student he had in his classes and the range of activities involved in his teaching. Evidence is cited that Maxwell was an enthusiastic and effective teacher, contrary to the often repeated but thinly supported view to the contrary. Following a brief summary of Maxwell's research interests while at Aberdeen, the myth that Maxwell was sacked from the University of Aberdeen is exploded and the detail of why he moved on is spelt out.
Reid
John S
JS
Department of Physics, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK. j.s.reid@abdn.ac.uk