William PeddieFRSE LLD (31 May 1861 – 2 June 1946) was a Scottish physicist and applied mathematician, known for his research on colour vision and molecular magnetism.[1]
He was born inPapa Westray inOrkney on 31 May 1861 the son of Rev John Peddie and his wife, Marion Beashe. He was educated atKirkwall Grammar School.[2]
He studied Mathematics and Physics at theUniversity of Edinburgh graduating BSc in 1887 and gaining a doctorate (DSc) in 1888.[3] He had been assisting in lectures in Natural Philosophy (Physics) since 1883 and became a formal lecturer in 1892. In 1907 he succeededJ. P. Kuenen as Professor of Physics atUniversity College, Dundee, a post he would hold for 35 years.[1][4]
He wrote numerous scientific papers and several books. He annotated the 5th edition ofTait'sProperties of Matter.[5]
In 1887 he was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers werePeter Guthrie Tait,Sir Thomas Muir,George Chrystal, andAlexander Crum Brown.[6] He was awarded the Society'sMakdougall-Brisbane Prize for 1896–1898, and served as the Society's vice president from 1919 to 1922.[1] He was President of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society 1896/97. He was an Invited Speaker of theICM in 1912 at Cambridge, UK.[7]
He retired in 1942 and died atNinewells Hospital on 2 June 1946.
His position was filled by ProfGeorge Dawson Preston.
In 1891 he married Jessie Isabella Dott (d.1927).
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