Thompson, Silvanus Phillips

Silvanus Phillips Thompson, (born June 19, 1851, York, Yorkshire, Eng.—died June 12, 1916, London), British physicist and historian of science known for contributions in electrical machinery, optics, and X rays.

He received both a B.A. (1869) and a D.Sc. (1878) from the University of London and was a popular teacher at University College, Bristol (1876–85), and at the City and Guilds Technical College, Finsbury (1885–1916). While teaching, Thompson contributed to the development of electric dynamo machines and radiotelegraphy.

Thompson was a prolific lecturer and writer on a wide range of scientific and technical subjects. Among his many works were Elementary Lessons in Electricity and Magnetism (1881) and the long-popular Calculus Made Easy (1910). He also wrote biographies of the scientists Johann Philipp Reis (1883), Michael Faraday (1898), William Gilbert (1901), and Lord Kelvin (1910). Thompson was an active Quaker, and he was an outspoken critic of the British government and its policies during the South African (Boer) War.