Lord Kelvin
1824–1907 · British (Irish-born) · Victorian Era
Known for: Established the Kelvin temperature scale, formulated thermodynamics, laid the transatlantic telegraph cable
Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) was one of the most prominent scientists of the Victorian era. He made fundamental contributions to thermodynamics, electromagnetic theory, and engineering. He supervised the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable and established the absolute temperature scale.
He was also famously wrong about several things—declaring heavier-than-air flight impossible and the Earth only 20-40 million years old. He didn't know about radioactive heating, which was a pretty big miss.
Browse all 1,000 figures by category
Enable JavaScript to view the full "if they lived today" Q&A and personality profile.