Papers relating to James Bowman Lindsay

• Reference:GB 254 MS 123
• Former Reference:GB 254 MS 15/2
• Dates of Creation:c 1830-1963
• Physical Description:
  1 volume, 1 folder (0.05 linear metres)

• Scope and Content

  Chinese-English dictionary, compiled by James Bowman Lindsay c.1830; "James Bowman Lindsay, Scientist and Philologer and other Pioneers of Invention" by A.H. Millar, c.1922; article from the [Portsmouth] Evening News re. Lindsay's experiments with transmarine telegraphy 1963

• Arrangement

  Usually chronological within series.

• Access Information

  Open for consultation subject to preservation requirements. Access must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act (2018), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, 2018) and any other relevant legislation or restrictions. Clinical information is closed for 100 years.

• Note

  Millar, Alexander H, James Bowman Lindsay;
  James Bowman Lindsay was born in 1799 at Carmyllie. As a child he was trained as a handloom weaver, but he educated himself at the same time. Recognising his potential, his parents saved up to send him to college and in 1821 he matriculated at St. Andrew's University. He was appointed Lecturer in Science and Mathematics at the Watt Institution in Dundee in 1829. From 1841 he taught at Dundee Prison, but resigned in 1858 after being granted an annual pension of £100 by the Prime Minister 'in recognition of his great learning and extraordinary attainments'. He died in 1862. Lindsey had many interests, including philology, astronomy, mathematics and science. He conducted much research into electricity and wireless telegraphy, particularly 'transmarine telegraphy' by which the electric current was transmitted through and across water. From 1828 to his death he also worked on his Pentecontaglossal Dictionary, a dictionary of synonyms in 107 languages, and in 1858 he published his 'Chrono-Astrolabe', a set of astronomical tables intended to assist in fixing historical dates.

• Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements

  The records are on paper

• Archivist's Note

  Description compiled by Kenneth Baxter

• Conditions Governing Use

  Reproduction is available subject to preservation requirements. Charges may be made for this service, and copyright and other restrictions may apply; please check with the Duty Archivist.

• Accruals

  Not expected

• Related Material

  James Bowman Lindsay's Pentecontaglossal Dictionary is deposited at Dundee Central Library

• Additional Information

  Published

  Catalogued

  MS 123