James Ferguson

Human progress has been depicted through multifarious channels from the Stone Age to the Digital Age. From cave paintings to video games. Similarly, the lives and deeds of the sages who accomplished so much have been chronicled.

A striking facet is the variety of routes these men (regrettably, until recent times they were nearly all males) followed to deploy their ingenuity. Some benefited from a wealthy patron: Tycho Brahe, the 16th century astronomer and member of the nobility.

An artisan, a thinker, and a communicator.

Routes to ingenuity

Or were enabled by access to the resources of a church: Robert Grosseteste, a 13th century theoretician and theologian, and despite humble origins, latterly Bishop of Lincoln. Also, an early pillar of Oxford University.

Or simply enjoyed inherited wealth: Henry Cavendish was one such, to his credit never deflected from his pursuit of scientific truths, including the isolation of hydrogen and, incredibly, delivery of an accurate estimate of Earth’s density. Predominantly active in the 18th century and described by his French contemporary, Jean-Baptiste Biot, as “the richest of all the savants and probably also the most learned of all the rich”. A formidable epigram.

At the other extreme was John Dalton, a Quaker committed to a simple, humble life and to science. Despite barriers to a university education, by the dawn of the 19th century he had formulated a verifiable and quantitative atomic framework; a foundation for successors.

Shared qualities

Or the remarkable duo of Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry, both born into poverty, who concurrently but independently elaborated electromagnetic induction early in the 19th century on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. Faraday became Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution while Henry was the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Another was the 18th century Scottish instrument-maker, James Watt, who evolved into a self-taught scientist, engineer, and entrepreneur. Through links with academics and philosophical societies, reading, and sheer determination, he advanced the steam engine that powered the Industrial Revolution, railways, and Royal Navy.

While these dynamos practised in disparate eras and locations, they surely shared qualities. One must have been resilience, the mindset to overcome obstacles; a positivity of spirit. A second trait was curiosity, a desire to know, requiring them to unravel and rationalise nature’s complexities.

These eight polymaths all appear during the narrative of Jimbo’s Assumption.

James Ferguson

An exception is James Ferguson, a fellow 18th century Scot whose life overlapped with Watt, although his senior by a quarter-century. Born, in 1710 CE, into a poor family in north-east Scotland, Ferguson’s life chances must have appeared bleak. He reportedly learned to read by watching his father teaching an older brother. His formal education consisted of just three months at a nearby grammar school, aged seven. As a 10-year-old, he was despatched to handle sheep on an adjacent farm. His working life began as a child-shepherd.

It seems that he spent his days making models of farm machinery and his nights observing the stars. Then, he made a working clock with a wooden mechanism. Reminiscent of another woodworker who attained eminence, John Harrison, an older contemporary. Ferguson’s dexterity attracted a landowner who employed him to maintain clocks. This must have been a period when he expanded his knowledge, presumably through reading, listening, and learning. The launch pad for his career.

Edinburgh and the rotula

By 1734 CE, he was living in Edinburgh, becoming a renowned painter of miniature portraits. His earlier deftness again apparent, while also providing an income that allowed him to pursue his burgeoning scientific inquisitiveness. The childhood stargazing resurfaced with his Astronomical Rotula, an inspired rotating circular chart that allowed the user to calculate the motions of the Sun and Moon, including sunrises and sunsets, for each day of the year. In effect, a mechanical calculator focused on the firmament.

London and public science

From 1743 CE, London was his home. Armed with an impressive knowledge of astronomy for the era, and a gift for mechanics, Ferguson produced models, typically globes, depicting planetary and celestial motions. Particularly notable was a pocket globe. He submitted papers to the Royal Society, subsequently becoming a Fellow, interacting with luminaries of the age.

He developed scientific and astronomical instruments and, from 1748 CE, began to give public lectures on experimentation, arranged by a publisher, throughout the towns of England. Given an absence of significant recognised education, we can picture him as an empiricist rather than a theorist. Promulgating science and the scientific method in the mid-18th century was arduous but valuable. He became a popular speaker, combining clear explanations and clever diagrams, while exhibiting unmistakeable passion. How many young scientists and engineers he motivated remains unknowable.

Self-study and legacy

A striking book he produced, initially in 1756 CE but with subsequent editions, was ‘Astronomy Explained upon Sir Isaac Newton’s Principles and Made Easy for Those Who Have Not Studied Mathematics’. Ferguson was never taught mathematics or Latin; his erudition was the product of profound self-study. Autodidactic is the term.

Ferguson’s endeavours and contributions were acknowledged in the form of a pension provided by the monarch. An artisan, a thinker, and a communicator. He died in 1776 CE, the very year that Watt introduced his transformative steam engine. Two noteworthy philosophers, two Scots, one celebrated and the other now obscure.