James Maxwell

Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831 - 1879), whose work is considered to have paved the way for Albert Einstein and Max Planck. Maxwell worked as a Professor of Natural Philosophy in Aberdeen and King's College in London, before establishing the Cavendish laboratory at Cambridge University. During his career he wrote about the kinetic theory of gases, investigated the perception of colour and demonstrated colour photography with a piece of tartan ribbon in 1861. His work studying the nature of Saturn's rings was only theoretical but was later proved by James Edward Keeler. He is best known for suggesting that electromagnetic waves could be repoduced in a laboratory and for his mathematical rationale of Faraday's electromagnetic theories. Original Artwork: An engraving by G J Stodard from a photograph by Fergus of Greenock (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)