William Thomson (later ) was arguably the most famous member of the department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow. He was born on the 26 June 1824 in Belfast Ireland, and was part of a large family whose mother died when he was aged six. His father taught Kelvin and his brothers mathematics to a level beyond that of university courses of the time. Kelvin's father accepted a post at the University of Glasgow in 1834. At the same time, Kelvin entered the University, aged 10, and had his first papers published at the ages of 1 ....