James Bowman Lindsay
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James Bowman Lindsay (1799-1862)

James Bowman Lindsay was born in 1799 at Carmyllie, Scotland to parents of modest means. As a child he was trained as a handloom weaver.   In 1821 he matriculated at St. Andrew's University. He was appointed Lecturer in Science and Mathematics at the Watt Institution in Dundee in 1829.  From 1841 he taught at Dundee Prison, but resigned in 1858 after being granted an annual pension of £100 by the Prime Minister " in recognition of his great learning and extraordinary attainments ". 

James Bowman Lindsay had many interests, including astronomy, mathematics and science.  He conducted much research into electricity and wireless telegraphy.   His patent of a wireless system of telegraphy in 1854 preceded the successful Marconi system of the present day.

From 1828 to his death in 1862 he also worked on his Pentecontaglossal Dictionary, a dictionary of synonyms in 107 languages, and in 1858 he published his Chrono-Astrolabe, a set of astronomical tables intended to assist in fixing historical dates.

James Bowman Lindsay is buried in Dundee's Western Cemetery and his memorial extols his accomplishments.

Page Initially Posted: July 2, 2001;  Updated: January 10, 2006