# William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

> His name marks every thermometer that counts from absolute zero. William Thomson pinned down the coldest possible temperature and built the scale that made heat a quantifiable law - then earned a fortune wiring the Atlantic seafloor.

*British physicist and engineer (1824-1907)*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/william-thomson-1st-baron-kelvin

## Identity
- **Profile type:** Scientist ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q39631))
- **Category:** Scientists
- **Born:** 1825-06-26
- **Died:** 1907-12-17
- **Status:** deceased
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Born in Belfast in 1824, Thomson spent 53 years as professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, where his mathematical analysis of electricity helped shape the first and second laws of thermodynamics and pulled physics together as a coherent discipline. He calculated absolute zero at roughly −273.15 degrees Celsius, a boundary the universe itself enforces. But Thomson also had a parallel career as a telegraph engineer: his work on the transatlantic cable earned him a knighthood in 1866, serious money, and public celebrity. He served as president of the Royal Society, became the first scientist elevated to the House of Lords in 1892, and refused every offer to leave Glasgow. He stayed until retirement in 1899, then joined Kodak's British board and became Chancellor of the University of Glasgow in 1904. He died in 1907 at Netherhall, the mansion he'd built in Largs - his smoking-pipe now rests in the Hunterian Museum.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 69.8 / 100
- **Momentum:** 16.7 / 100  (trend: FALLING)
- **Historical depth:** 25.7 / 100
- **Attention shift:** 5.1 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 60.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 60.0 / 100

## Topics
#Scientists, #Scientist, #Physics, #Astronomy, #Mathematics, #Politics, #Literature, #Chemistry

## Timeline
- **1907** - Died
- **1905** - John Fritz Medal
- **1892** - Helmholtz Medal
- **1886** - honorary member of the Physics Association (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
- **1883** - Copley Medal
- **1876** - Matteucci Medal
- **1866** - Knight Bachelor
- **1856** - Royal Society Bakerian Medal
- **1851** - Fellow of the Royal Society
- **1825** - Born

## Sources
- [Lorde Kelvin](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorde_Kelvin)
- [William Thomson (natuurkundige)](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson_(natuurkundige))
- [William Thomson](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson)
- [Томсон, Уильям (лорд Кельвин)](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BD%2C_%D0%A3%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%8F%D0%BC_(%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B4_%D0%9A%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BD))
- [ウィリアム・トムソン](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A3%E3%83%AA%E3%82%A2%E3%83%A0%E3%83%BB%E3%83%88%E3%83%A0%E3%82%BD%E3%83%B3)
- [开尔文勋爵](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BC%80%E5%B0%94%E6%96%87%E5%8B%8B%E7%88%B5)
- [William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson_(Lord_Kelvin))
- [William Thomson, I barone Kelvin](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson%2C_I_barone_Kelvin)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q122701)
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson,_1st_Baron_Kelvin)
- [Pantheon 2.0](https://pantheon.world/profile/person/William%20Thomson%2C%201st%20Baron%20Kelvin)
- [Уилям Томсън](https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%BC_%D0%A2%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%81%D1%8A%D0%BD)
- [উইলিয়াম টমসন (লর্ড কেলভিন)](https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%89%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE_%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%A8_(%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A1_%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%AD%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A8))
- [William Thomson](https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson)
- [William Thomson](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson)
- [لۆرد کێلڤن](https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%DB%86%D8%B1%D8%AF_%DA%A9%DB%8E%D9%84%DA%A4%D9%86)
- [William Thomson](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson)
- [William Thomson, Barwn 1af Kelvin](https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson%2C_Barwn_1af_Kelvin)
- [William Thomson](https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson)
- [William Thomson, 1. Baron Kelvin](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson%2C_1._Baron_Kelvin)
- [Ουίλιαμ Τόμσον](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9F%CF%85%CE%AF%CE%BB%CE%B9%CE%B1%CE%BC_%CE%A4%CF%8C%CE%BC%CF%83%CE%BF%CE%BD)
- [Lord Kelvin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Kelvin)
- [William Thomson](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson)
- [William Thomson](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson)
- [William Thomson](https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson)
- [William Thomson](https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson)
- [ویلیام تامسون](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%86)
- [Wikiquote](https://be.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D1%96%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%8F%D0%BC_%D0%A2%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD)
- [Wikiquote](https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Thomson)
- [Wikiquote](https://de.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Thomson)

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