PHYSICIST

David Brewster

1781 - 1868

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Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 1781 – 10 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics, mostly concerned with the study of the polarization of light and including the discovery of Brewster's angle. He studied the birefringence of crystals under compression and discovered photoelasticity, thereby creating the field of optical mineralogy. For this work, William Whewell dubbed him the "father of modern experimental optics" and "the Johannes Kepler of optics." Brewster was a pioneer in photography. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. David Brewster is the 200th most popular physicist (up from 257th in 2019), the 529th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 701st in 2019) and the 29th most popular British Physicist.

David Brewster was a Scottish scientist and inventor. He is most famous for inventing the kaleidoscope.

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Among PHYSICISTS

Among physicists, David Brewster ranks 200 out of 851. Before him are George Francis FitzGerald, Igor Tamm, Hugh David Politzer, Horst Ludwig Störmer, Bertram Brockhouse, and Max Delbrück. After him are Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Kip Thorne, Hugh Everett III, Klaus von Klitzing, Karl Schwarzschild, and Maurice Wilkins.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1781, David Brewster ranks 9. Before him are Bernard Bolzano, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Siméon Denis Poisson, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, René Laennec, and Adelbert von Chamisso. After him are Stamford Raffles, William I of Württemberg, Achim von Arnim, Anton Diabelli, Frederica of Baden, and Joseph Karl Stieler. Among people deceased in 1868, David Brewster ranks 9. Before him are James Buchanan, August Ferdinand Möbius, Ludwig I of Bavaria, Mongkut, Tewodros II, and August Schleicher. After him are Alexandre Colonna-Walewski, William T. G. Morton, Franz Berwald, Okita Sōji, Adalbert Stifter, and François-Édouard Picot.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, David Brewster ranks 529 out of 8,785. Before him are John Donne (1572), Thomas Gainsborough (1727), Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (1984), Kenny Baker (1934), Ian Holm (1931), and Theresa May (1956). After him are Cynric (450), John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650), Rudolf Abel (1903), Sweyn II of Denmark (1020), Patrick Stewart (1940), and George Eliot (1819).

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Among PHYSICISTS In United Kingdom

Among physicists born in United Kingdom, David Brewster ranks 29. Before him are Thomas Young (1773), Peter Higgs (1929), Roger Penrose (1931), Henry Moseley (1887), John Kendrew (1917), and James Jeans (1877). After him are Andrew Huxley (1917), John Cockcroft (1897), William Shockley (1910), C. P. Snow (1905), Osborne Reynolds (1842), and Anthony James Leggett (1938).

British born Physicists

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