Balfour Stewart was born on 1 November 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. An intelectually precocious child, he entered St-Andrews University at age thirteen, subsequently transfering to the University of Edinburgh to study natural philosophy. Bending to parental pressures, upon graduating he embarked on business, which he however abandoned and return to the University of Edinburgh in 1853 to work as an assistant to James D. Forbes (1809-1868). In 1859 he became Director of Kew Observatory, where he remained until 1870, and finished his career as Porfessor of Physics at Owens College in Manchester. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1862, awarded their Rumford Medal in 1868, and was elected to the Royal Astronomical Society in 1867.
Stewart's true forte was in experimental physics, but many of his theoretical ideas, though often lacking mathematical rigour, anticipated many later key developments in nineteenth century Physics, particularly in thermodynamics. He essentially established, in a purely empirical and almost intuitive manner, the radiation Laws later obtained by Kirchhoff. Stewart also held a life-long fascination with the possible link between terrestrial magnetism and meteorological phenomena. He first postulated the existence of a high, electrically conducting atmospheric layer which he aptly named "ionosphere", and was the primary driver behind the study of possible planetary influences on sunspots carried our during his directorship at Kew.
In his later years, Stewart became interested in the the compatibility between science and religious, and also launched himself into the scientific study of psychic phenomena. These, in particular, drew very mixed reviews, to the point that his friend and colleague Peter Guthrie Tait (1831-1901), in the obituary he wrote in memory of Stewart, described him as a "one of the most loveable of men, modest and unassuming, but full of the most weird and grotesque ideas". Nonetheless, as Professor of Physics at Owens College, Stewart succesfully trained a number of late nineteenth century luminaries of British physics, such as J.J. Thompson (1856-1940), Joseph Henry Pointing (1852-1914), and Arthur Schuster (1851-1934). Severely wounded in 1870 in a train crash from which he never fully recovered, he died on 18 december 1887.
Charbonneau, P., Balfour Stewart, in Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, ed.-in-chief T. Hockey, Springer, 2007.
To search for a Solar Physicist
To references and further reading
last modification on january 18 2008 by
paulchar@astro.umontreal.ca
Tous droits réservés / Copyrighted by
Université de Montréal
Back to the great moment 
To the GRPS homepage