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Alfred Ewing
Sir James Alfred Ewing KCB FRS FRSE DL MInstitCE (27 March 1855 − 7 January 1935) was a Scottish physicist and engineer, best known for his work on the magnetic properties of metals and, in particular, for his discovery of, and coinage of the word, hysteresis.
It was said of Ewing that he was 'Careful at all times of his appearance, his suits were mostly grey, added to which he generally wore – whatever the fashion – a white piqué stripe to his waistcoat, a mauve shirt, a white butterfly collar and a dark blue bow tie with white spots.'[citation needed] He was regarded as brilliant and successful, but was conscious of his dignity and position. On appointment to head the newly created Admiralty codebreaking department, the Director of Naval Intelligence, Henry Oliver, described him as 'too distinguished a man to be placed officially under the orders of the Director of Intelligence or Chief of Staff'. His first wife, Annie, was an American, a great great niece of George Washington.
Born in Dundee, Scotland, Ewing was the third son of the Reverend James Ewing a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was educated at West End Academy and the High School of Dundee, Ewing showed an early interest in science and technology.
In a family whose chief interests were clerical and literary, I took my pleasure in machines and experiments. My scanty pocket money was spent on tools and chemicals. The domestic attic was put at my disposal. It became the scene of hair-raising explosions. There too the domestic cat found herself an unwilling instrument of electrification and a partner in various shocking experiences.
Ewing won a scholarship to the University of Edinburgh where he studied physics under Peter Guthrie Tait before graduating in engineering. During his summer vacations, he worked on telegraph cable laying expeditions, including one to Brazil, under William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin and Fleeming Jenkin.
In 1878, on Fleeming Jenkin's recommendation, Ewing was recruited to help the modernisation of Meiji Era Japan as one of the o-yatoi gaikokujin (hired foreigners). Serving as professor of mechanical engineering at the Tokyo Imperial University, he was instrumental in founding Japanese seismology.
Ewing made two special friends at Tokyo University soon after arriving: Basil Hall Chamberlain and Lieutenant Thomas Henry James RN, who taught navigation. He was also in close contact with Henry Dyer and William Edward Ayrton at the Imperial College of Engineering (Kobu Dai Gakkō).
In Tokyo, Ewing taught courses on mechanics and heat engines to engineering students, and on electricity and magnetism to physics students. He carried out many research projects on magnetism and coined the word 'hysteresis'. His investigations into earthquakes led him to help develop the first modern seismograph, alongside Thomas Gray and John Milne of the Imperial College of Engineering, from 1880 to 1895. All three men worked as a team on the invention and use of seismographs, though Milne is generally credited with the invention of the first modern horizontal-pendulum seismograph.
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Alfred Ewing
Sir James Alfred Ewing KCB FRS FRSE DL MInstitCE (27 March 1855 − 7 January 1935) was a Scottish physicist and engineer, best known for his work on the magnetic properties of metals and, in particular, for his discovery of, and coinage of the word, hysteresis.
It was said of Ewing that he was 'Careful at all times of his appearance, his suits were mostly grey, added to which he generally wore – whatever the fashion – a white piqué stripe to his waistcoat, a mauve shirt, a white butterfly collar and a dark blue bow tie with white spots.'[citation needed] He was regarded as brilliant and successful, but was conscious of his dignity and position. On appointment to head the newly created Admiralty codebreaking department, the Director of Naval Intelligence, Henry Oliver, described him as 'too distinguished a man to be placed officially under the orders of the Director of Intelligence or Chief of Staff'. His first wife, Annie, was an American, a great great niece of George Washington.
Born in Dundee, Scotland, Ewing was the third son of the Reverend James Ewing a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was educated at West End Academy and the High School of Dundee, Ewing showed an early interest in science and technology.
In a family whose chief interests were clerical and literary, I took my pleasure in machines and experiments. My scanty pocket money was spent on tools and chemicals. The domestic attic was put at my disposal. It became the scene of hair-raising explosions. There too the domestic cat found herself an unwilling instrument of electrification and a partner in various shocking experiences.
Ewing won a scholarship to the University of Edinburgh where he studied physics under Peter Guthrie Tait before graduating in engineering. During his summer vacations, he worked on telegraph cable laying expeditions, including one to Brazil, under William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin and Fleeming Jenkin.
In 1878, on Fleeming Jenkin's recommendation, Ewing was recruited to help the modernisation of Meiji Era Japan as one of the o-yatoi gaikokujin (hired foreigners). Serving as professor of mechanical engineering at the Tokyo Imperial University, he was instrumental in founding Japanese seismology.
Ewing made two special friends at Tokyo University soon after arriving: Basil Hall Chamberlain and Lieutenant Thomas Henry James RN, who taught navigation. He was also in close contact with Henry Dyer and William Edward Ayrton at the Imperial College of Engineering (Kobu Dai Gakkō).
In Tokyo, Ewing taught courses on mechanics and heat engines to engineering students, and on electricity and magnetism to physics students. He carried out many research projects on magnetism and coined the word 'hysteresis'. His investigations into earthquakes led him to help develop the first modern seismograph, alongside Thomas Gray and John Milne of the Imperial College of Engineering, from 1880 to 1895. All three men worked as a team on the invention and use of seismographs, though Milne is generally credited with the invention of the first modern horizontal-pendulum seismograph.