Alexander Adie
Encyclopedia
Alexander James Adie FRSE (1775, Edinburgh
– 1859) was a Scottish maker of medical instruments, optician and meteorologist. He was the inventor of the sympiesometer
, patented in 1818.
Apprenticed in 1789 to his uncle John Miller
, they went into business together as Miller and Adie until 1822. Adie supplied lenses to Joseph Hooker
, Charles Darwin
and Sir David Brewster and was optician to William IV and to Queen Victoria. He invented the sympiesometer or marine barometer and had a small observatory erected long before there was a public observatory in Edinburgh. He was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
on 25 January 1819.
Adie lived at 10 Regent Terrace
, Edinburgh from 1832 to 1838.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
– 1859) was a Scottish maker of medical instruments, optician and meteorologist. He was the inventor of the sympiesometer
Sympiesometer
A sympiesometer is a compact and lightweight type of barometer that was widely used on ships in the 19th century.The sympiesometer consists of two parts. One is a traditional mercury thermometer that is needed to calculate the expansion or contraction of the fluid in the barometer proper...
, patented in 1818.
Apprenticed in 1789 to his uncle John Miller
John Miller
-Politics:* John Miller , Governor of North Dakota, 1889–1891* John Miller , Governor of Missouri, 1826–1832; U.S. Representative from Missouri, 1837–1843...
, they went into business together as Miller and Adie until 1822. Adie supplied lenses to Joseph Hooker
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM, GCSI, CB, MD, FRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. Hooker was a founder of geographical botany, and Charles Darwin's closest friend...
, Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
and Sir David Brewster and was optician to William IV and to Queen Victoria. He invented the sympiesometer or marine barometer and had a small observatory erected long before there was a public observatory in Edinburgh. He was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
on 25 January 1819.
Adie lived at 10 Regent Terrace
Regent Terrace
Regent Terrace is a residential street of 34 classical 3-bay townhouses built on the tail of Calton Hill in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Regent Terrace is within the Edinburgh New and Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1995.- Houses :...
, Edinburgh from 1832 to 1838.
External links
- http://www.qualityantiqueclocks.com/page/31294/31294.htm
- The sympiesometer designed by Alexander Adie: an unusually short 'barometer' without mercury