Maxwell, James Clerk
The Scotsman James Clerk Maxwell (1831 - 1879), son to an advocate, was a physicist and mathematician.
He developed the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism, and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism achieved the second great unification in physics, where the first one had been realised by Isaac Newton.
He was also key in the creation of what we now call statistical mechanics, and formulated the Maxwell distribution of molecular velocities.
As a mathematician he investigated the n-ellipse.
See also
Last modified:10 January 2026 12.27 p.m.