ENGINEER
William John Macquorn Rankine
1820 - 1872

William John Macquorn Rankine
William John Macquorn Rankine (; 5 July 1820 – 24 December 1872) was a Scottish mathematician and physicist. He was a founding contributor, with Rudolf Clausius and William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), to the science of thermodynamics, particularly focusing on its First Law. He developed the Rankine scale, a Fahrenheit-based equivalent to the Celsius-based Kelvin scale of temperature. Rankine developed a complete theory of the steam engine and indeed of all heat engines. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. William John Macquorn Rankine is the 8th most popular engineer (up from 44th in 2019), the 224th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 739th in 2019) and the most popular British Engineer.
William John Macquorn Rankine was a Scottish engineer who is most famous for his work in thermodynamics. He is credited with the invention of the Rankine scale.
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Among ENGINEERS
Among engineers, William John Macquorn Rankine ranks 8 out of 389. Before him are Gottlieb Daimler, Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Mikhail Kalashnikov, Zhuge Liang, Wernher von Braun, and Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot. After him are Frederick Winslow Taylor, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Alexei Kosygin, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, José Echegaray, and Sergei Korolev.
Most Popular Engineers in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsGottlieb Daimler
1834 - 1900
HPI: 79.99
Rank: 2
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
1850 - 1916
HPI: 79.10
Rank: 3
Mikhail Kalashnikov
1919 - 2013
HPI: 79.03
Rank: 4
Zhuge Liang
181 - 234
HPI: 79.02
Rank: 5
Wernher von Braun
1912 - 1977
HPI: 77.92
Rank: 6
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot
1796 - 1832
HPI: 77.68
Rank: 7
William John Macquorn Rankine
1820 - 1872
HPI: 76.98
Rank: 8
Frederick Winslow Taylor
1856 - 1915
HPI: 75.32
Rank: 9
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
1857 - 1935
HPI: 74.12
Rank: 10
Alexei Kosygin
1904 - 1980
HPI: 73.94
Rank: 11
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban
1633 - 1707
HPI: 73.84
Rank: 12
José Echegaray
1832 - 1916
HPI: 73.61
Rank: 13
Sergei Korolev
1906 - 1966
HPI: 73.61
Rank: 14
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1820, William John Macquorn Rankine ranks 6. Before him are Friedrich Engels, Florence Nightingale, Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Herbert Spencer, and Nadar. After him are Anne Brontë, Harriet Tubman, Henri, Count of Chambord, Edmond Becquerel, Henri Vieuxtemps, and Multatuli. Among people deceased in 1872, William John Macquorn Rankine ranks 6. Before him are Samuel Morse, Ludwig Feuerbach, Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Charles XV of Sweden, and Giuseppe Mazzini. After him are Théophile Gautier, Benito Juárez, Stanisław Moniuszko, N. F. S. Grundtvig, Franz Grillparzer, and George Robert Gray.
Others Born in 1820
Go to all RankingsFriedrich Engels
PHILOSOPHER
1820 - 1895
HPI: 85.72
Rank: 1
Florence Nightingale
PHYSICIAN
1820 - 1910
HPI: 83.23
Rank: 2
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
POLITICIAN
1820 - 1878
HPI: 82.61
Rank: 3
Herbert Spencer
PHILOSOPHER
1820 - 1903
HPI: 80.25
Rank: 4
Nadar
PHOTOGRAPHER
1820 - 1910
HPI: 77.63
Rank: 5
William John Macquorn Rankine
ENGINEER
1820 - 1872
HPI: 76.98
Rank: 6
Anne Brontë
WRITER
1820 - 1849
HPI: 75.21
Rank: 7
Harriet Tubman
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1820 - 1913
HPI: 73.54
Rank: 8
Henri, Count of Chambord
POLITICIAN
1820 - 1883
HPI: 73.09
Rank: 9
Edmond Becquerel
PHYSICIST
1820 - 1891
HPI: 72.83
Rank: 10
Henri Vieuxtemps
COMPOSER
1820 - 1881
HPI: 70.77
Rank: 11
Multatuli
WRITER
1820 - 1887
HPI: 70.61
Rank: 12
Others Deceased in 1872
Go to all RankingsSamuel Morse
INVENTOR
1791 - 1872
HPI: 80.49
Rank: 1
Ludwig Feuerbach
PHILOSOPHER
1804 - 1872
HPI: 80.22
Rank: 2
Princess Sophie of Bavaria
NOBLEMAN
1805 - 1872
HPI: 79.63
Rank: 3
Charles XV of Sweden
POLITICIAN
1826 - 1872
HPI: 78.39
Rank: 4
Giuseppe Mazzini
POLITICIAN
1805 - 1872
HPI: 77.48
Rank: 5
William John Macquorn Rankine
ENGINEER
1820 - 1872
HPI: 76.98
Rank: 6
Théophile Gautier
WRITER
1811 - 1872
HPI: 74.57
Rank: 7
Benito Juárez
POLITICIAN
1806 - 1872
HPI: 72.81
Rank: 8
Stanisław Moniuszko
COMPOSER
1819 - 1872
HPI: 70.02
Rank: 9
N. F. S. Grundtvig
WRITER
1783 - 1872
HPI: 69.71
Rank: 10
Franz Grillparzer
WRITER
1791 - 1872
HPI: 69.19
Rank: 11
George Robert Gray
BIOLOGIST
1808 - 1872
HPI: 67.72
Rank: 12
In United Kingdom
Among people born in United Kingdom, William John Macquorn Rankine ranks 224 out of 8,785. Before him are Catherine Howard (1523), Guy Fawkes (1570), Æthelbald, King of Wessex (831), George Stephenson (1781), John Harvard (1607), and W. H. Auden (1907). After him are Humphry Davy (1778), T. E. Lawrence (1888), Marie of Romania (1875), Joseph Priestley (1733), Ringo Starr (1940), and C. S. Lewis (1898).
Others born in United Kingdom
Go to all RankingsCatherine Howard
COMPANION
1523 - 1542
HPI: 77.14
Rank: 218
Guy Fawkes
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1570 - 1606
HPI: 77.05
Rank: 219
Æthelbald, King of Wessex
POLITICIAN
831 - 860
HPI: 77.05
Rank: 220
George Stephenson
INVENTOR
1781 - 1848
HPI: 77.03
Rank: 221
John Harvard
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1607 - 1638
HPI: 77.02
Rank: 222
W. H. Auden
WRITER
1907 - 1973
HPI: 77.00
Rank: 223
William John Macquorn Rankine
ENGINEER
1820 - 1872
HPI: 76.98
Rank: 224
Humphry Davy
CHEMIST
1778 - 1829
HPI: 76.94
Rank: 225
T. E. Lawrence
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1888 - 1935
HPI: 76.94
Rank: 226
Marie of Romania
POLITICIAN
1875 - 1938
HPI: 76.91
Rank: 227
Joseph Priestley
PHILOSOPHER
1733 - 1804
HPI: 76.90
Rank: 228
Ringo Starr
MUSICIAN
1940 - Present
HPI: 76.87
Rank: 229
C. S. Lewis
WRITER
1898 - 1963
HPI: 76.86
Rank: 230
Among ENGINEERS In United Kingdom
Among engineers born in United Kingdom, William John Macquorn Rankine ranks 1. After him are Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806), Hertha Ayrton (1854), Godfrey Hounsfield (1919), William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong (1810), John Ambrose Fleming (1849), Colin Chapman (1928), Charles George Gordon (1833), Adrian Newey (1958), Henry Royce (1863), Charles Rolls (1877), and Patrick Head (1946).
William John Macquorn Rankine
1820 - 1872
HPI: 76.98
Rank: 1
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
1806 - 1859
HPI: 69.19
Rank: 2
Hertha Ayrton
1854 - 1923
HPI: 68.90
Rank: 3
Godfrey Hounsfield
1919 - 2004
HPI: 67.50
Rank: 4
William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
1810 - 1900
HPI: 67.28
Rank: 5
John Ambrose Fleming
1849 - 1945
HPI: 66.83
Rank: 6
Colin Chapman
1928 - 1982
HPI: 66.49
Rank: 7
Charles George Gordon
1833 - 1885
HPI: 66.23
Rank: 8
Adrian Newey
1958 - Present
HPI: 65.55
Rank: 9
Henry Royce
1863 - 1933
HPI: 65.22
Rank: 10
Charles Rolls
1877 - 1910
HPI: 64.56
Rank: 11
Patrick Head
1946 - Present
HPI: 64.52
Rank: 12