Copyright
Andrew RobinsonPublished On
2023-05-09ISBN
Paperback978-1-80511-018-7
Hardback978-1-80511-019-4
PDF978-1-80511-020-0
HTML978-1-80511-024-8
XML978-1-80511-023-1
EPUB978-1-80511-021-7
AZW3978-1-80511-022-4
Language
- English
Print Length
296 pages (xxx+266)Dimensions
Paperback156 x 20 x 234 mm(6.14" x 0.79" x 9.21")
Hardback156 x 24 x 234 mm(6.14" x 0.94" x 9.21")
Weight
Paperback565g (19.93oz)
Hardback742g (26.17oz)
Media
Illustrations17
OCLC Number
1389616925LCCN
2022361858BIC
- BG
- BJ
- BGT
- HDDG
BISAC
- BIO000000
- BIO015000
- HIS002030
LCC
- Q143.Y7
Keywords
- Thomas Young
- physicist
- physician
- decipher
- Egyptologist
- Rosetta Stone
- biography
The Last Man Who Knew Everything
Thomas Young
- Andrew Robinson (author)
- Martin Rees (foreword by)
No one has given the polymath Thomas Young (1773–1829) the all-round examination he so richly deserves—until now. Celebrated biographer Andrew Robinson portrays a man who solved mystery after mystery in the face of ridicule and rejection, and never sought fame.
As a physicist, Young challenged the theories of Isaac Newton and proved that light is a wave. As a physician, he showed how the eye focuses and proposed the three-colour theory of vision, only confirmed a century and a half later. As an Egyptologist, he made crucial contributions to deciphering the Rosetta Stone. It is hard to grasp how much Young knew.
This biography is the fascinating story of a driven yet modest hero who cared less about what others thought of him than for the joys of an unbridled pursuit of knowledge—with a new foreword by Martin Rees and a new postscript discussing polymathy in the two centuries since the time of Young. It returns this neglected genius to his proper position in the pantheon of great scientific thinkers.
Reviews
The name of Thomas Young should everywhere be honoured and revered, and this sympathetic and penetrating study goes far in achieving that exalted aim.
Irving Finkel
"British Museum Magazine". no. 107, 2023.
Additional Resources
[website]Andrew Robinson's Website
[article]Thomas Young: prolific polymath and unassuming genius
To mark the 250th anniversary of Thomas Young’s birth, Martin Rees, the UK’s Astronomer Royal, highlights the wide-ranging expertise and discoveries of the maverick British scientist.
[article]Thomas Young, 250 years later
A biographer reflects on the remarkable contributions of the prolific polymath
[article]The legacy of Thomas Young
[article]Thomas Young (1773-1829)
[website] EVENT: Young versus Champollion: Who Deciphered the Hieroglyphs?
Click on the link to find details about this event.
Contents
Foreword
(pp. ix–xiii)- Martin Rees
Preface
(pp. xv–xvi)- Andrew Robinson
Introduction
(pp. xvii–xxx)- Andrew Robinson
1. Child Prodigy
(pp. 1–18)- Andrew Robinson
2. Fellow of the Royal Society
(pp. 19–27)- Andrew Robinson
3. Itinerant Medical Student
(pp. 29–43)- Andrew Robinson
4. ‘Phenomenon’ Young
(pp. 45–55)- Andrew Robinson
5. Physician of Vision
(pp. 57–73)- Andrew Robinson
6. Royal Institution Lecturer
(pp. 75–84)- Andrew Robinson
7. Let There Be Light Waves
(pp. 85–103)- Andrew Robinson
8. ‘Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts’
(pp. 105–122)- Andrew Robinson
9. Dr Thomas Young, M.D., F.R.C.P.
(pp. 123–134)- Andrew Robinson
10. Reading the Rosetta Stone
(pp. 135–156)- Andrew Robinson
11. Waves of Enlightenment
(pp. 157–170)- Andrew Robinson
12. Walking Encyclopaedia
(pp. 171–180)- Andrew Robinson
13. In the Public Interest
(pp. 181–192)- Andrew Robinson
14. Grand Tour
(pp. 193–199)- Andrew Robinson
15. Duelling with Champollion
(pp. 201–214)- Andrew Robinson
16. A Universal Man
(pp. 215–231)- Andrew Robinson
Postscript: Polymathy Then—and Now?
(pp. 233–241)- Andrew Robinson