Dionysius Lardner
Encyclopedia
Dionysius Lardner was an Irish
scientific writer who popularised science and technology, and edited the 133-volume Cabinet Cyclopedia.
in Dublin, who wished his son to follow the same calling. After some years of uncongenial desk work, Lardner entered Trinity College, Dublin
in 1812, and obtained a B.A. in 1817 and an M.A. in 1819, winning many prizes. He married Cecilia Flood on 19 December 1815, but they separated in 1820 and were divorced in 1835. About the time of the separation, he began a relationship with a married woman, Anne Maria Darley Boursiquot, the wife of a Dublin wine merchant. It is believed that he fathered her son, Dion Boucicault
, the actor and dramatist. Lardner provided him with financial support until 1840. Whilst in Dublin, Lardner began to write and lecture on scientific and mathematical matters, and to contribute articles for publication by the Irish Academy.
and astronomy
at University College, London, a position he held until he resigned his professorship in 1831.
Lardner showed himself to be a successful popularizer of science. He was the author of numerous mathematical and physical treatises on such subjects as algebraic geometry
(1823), the differential and integral calculus
(1825), the steam engine
(1828), besides hand-books on various departments of natural philosophy (1854–1856); but it is as the editor of Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia (1830–1844) that he is best remembered.
The Cabinet Cyclopaedia eventually comprised 133 volumes, and many of the ablest savants of the day contributed to it. Sir Walter Scott contributed a history of Scotland
and Thomas Moore
contributed a history of Ireland
. Connop Thirlwall
provided a history of Ancient Greece
, whilst Robert Southey
provided a section on naval history. Many eminent scientists contributed as well. Lardner himself was the author of the treatises on arithmetic, geometry, heat, hydrostatics and pneumatics
, mechanics (in conjunction with Henry Kater
) and electricity (in conjunction with C.V. Walker
).
The Cabinet Library (12 vols., 1830–1832) and the Museum of Science and Art (12 vols., 1854–1856) were his other chief undertakings. A few original papers appear in the Royal Irish Academy's Transactions (1824), in the Royal Society
's Proceedings (1831–1836) and in the Astronomical Society's Monthly Notices (1852–1853); and two Reports to the British Association on railway constants (1838, 1841) are from his pen.
. Lardner ran off to Paris with Mrs Heaviside, pursued by her husband. When he caught up with them, Heaviside subjected Lardner to a flogging; he was unable to persuade his wife to return with him. Later that year he successfully sued Lardner for ‘criminal conversation’ (adultery) and received a judgment of £8,000. The Heavisides were divorced in 1841, and in 1846 Lardner was able to marry Mary Heaviside. The scandal caused by his affair with a married woman effectively ended his career in England, so Lardner and his wife remained in Paris until shortly before his death in 1859. He was able to maintain his career by lecturing in the United States between 1841 and 1844, which proved financially rewarding.
He died in Naples
, Italy, and is buried in the Cimitero degli Inglesi
there.
regarding technical matters, in which he came off the worse.
While Brunel was building the broad-gauge
Great Western Railway
, Lardner carried out some experiments with the company’s flagship locomotive, North Star. He asserted that, whilst the engine was capable of hauling 82 tons at 33 m.p.h., it was only capable of hauling 16 tons at 41 m.p.h. He also recorded excessive fuel consumption at higher speeds. Lardner attributed this to the greater wind resistance of broad-gauge engines. Brunel and his assistant Daniel Gooch
carried out their own experiments on the same locomotive and found that the only problem was that the blast pipe was too small. This was easily rectified and the North Star’s performance immediately improved. At the next meeting of the company’s directors, Brunel triumphantly dismissed Lardner’s evidence.
Lardner also criticised Brunel's design of the Box Tunnel
on the Great Western Railway. The tunnel had a 1-in-100 gradient from the east end to the west end. Lardner asserted that if a train's brakes were to fail in the tunnel, it would accelerate to over 120 m.p.h., at which speed the passengers would suffocate. Brunel pointed out that Lardner’s calculations totally disregarded air-resistance and friction, a basic error.
When Brunel was proposing to build SS Great Western
for the 3,500-mile transatlantic passage to New York, at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Lardner stated that:
's 'Das Capital' and was well respected as an economist. He mixed with the rich and famous. He was involved in the founding of the University of London
and the first person to hold the post of Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy there. He was influential in publicising Charles Babbage
's Difference engine
.
Whilst lecturing in America Lardner was paid by Norris Brothers, the largest firm of locomotive builders, to investigate a fatal accident in Reading, near Philadelphia, where a boiler had exploded on a newly made train. Lardner pronounced that the accident had been caused by lightning, which meant that Norris brothers were not personally liable for the accident. A committee of the Franklin Institute pointed out that there was no lightning present at that time and that the pumps had been faulty, the water indicator was ill-designed and the bridge-bands made of cast iron rather than wrought iron. The Coroner's inquest jury were persuaded by Lardner that the accident was an 'act of God' but the company were careful to design their later locomotives with wrought-iron bands.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
scientific writer who popularised science and technology, and edited the 133-volume Cabinet Cyclopedia.
Early life in Dublin
His father was William Lardner, a solicitorSolicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
in Dublin, who wished his son to follow the same calling. After some years of uncongenial desk work, Lardner entered Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
in 1812, and obtained a B.A. in 1817 and an M.A. in 1819, winning many prizes. He married Cecilia Flood on 19 December 1815, but they separated in 1820 and were divorced in 1835. About the time of the separation, he began a relationship with a married woman, Anne Maria Darley Boursiquot, the wife of a Dublin wine merchant. It is believed that he fathered her son, Dion Boucicault
Dion Boucicault
Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot , commonly known as Dion Boucicault, was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the...
, the actor and dramatist. Lardner provided him with financial support until 1840. Whilst in Dublin, Lardner began to write and lecture on scientific and mathematical matters, and to contribute articles for publication by the Irish Academy.
Career in London
In 1828 Lardner was elected professor of natural philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
at University College, London, a position he held until he resigned his professorship in 1831.
Lardner showed himself to be a successful popularizer of science. He was the author of numerous mathematical and physical treatises on such subjects as algebraic geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
(1823), the differential and integral calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
(1825), the steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
(1828), besides hand-books on various departments of natural philosophy (1854–1856); but it is as the editor of Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia (1830–1844) that he is best remembered.
The Cabinet Cyclopaedia eventually comprised 133 volumes, and many of the ablest savants of the day contributed to it. Sir Walter Scott contributed a history of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
contributed a history of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Connop Thirlwall
Connop Thirlwall
Connop Thirlwall was an English bishop and historian.-Early life:Thirlwall was born at Stepney, London, of a Northumbrian family. He was a prodigy, learning Latin at three, Greek at four, and writing sermons at seven.He went to Charterhouse School, where George Grote and Julius Hare were among...
provided a history of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, whilst Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
provided a section on naval history. Many eminent scientists contributed as well. Lardner himself was the author of the treatises on arithmetic, geometry, heat, hydrostatics and pneumatics
Pneumatics
Pneumatics is a branch of technology, which deals with the study and application of use of pressurized gas to effect mechanical motion.Pneumatic systems are extensively used in industry, where factories are commonly plumbed with compressed air or compressed inert gases...
, mechanics (in conjunction with Henry Kater
Henry Kater
Henry Kater was an English physicist of German descent.-Early life:He was born at Bristol. At first he intended to study law; but he gave up the idea on his father's death in 1794. He entered the army, obtaining a commission in the 12th Regiment of Foot, then stationed in India, where he assisted...
) and electricity (in conjunction with C.V. Walker
Charles Vincent Walker
Charles Vincent Walker FRS was an English electrical engineer and publisher, a major influence on the development of railway telecommunications, he was also the first person to send a submarine telegraph signal.-Life:...
).
The Cabinet Library (12 vols., 1830–1832) and the Museum of Science and Art (12 vols., 1854–1856) were his other chief undertakings. A few original papers appear in the Royal Irish Academy's Transactions (1824), in the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
's Proceedings (1831–1836) and in the Astronomical Society's Monthly Notices (1852–1853); and two Reports to the British Association on railway constants (1838, 1841) are from his pen.
Involvement in scandal
In 1840 Lardner’s career received a major setback as a result of his involvement with Mary Spicer Heaviside, the wife of Captain Richard Heaviside, of the Dragoon GuardsDragoon guards
Dragoon Guards was the designation used to refer to certain heavy cavalry regiments in the British Army from the 18th century onwards. While the Prussian and Russian armies of the same period included dragoon regiments amongst their respective Imperial Guards, different titles were applied to these...
. Lardner ran off to Paris with Mrs Heaviside, pursued by her husband. When he caught up with them, Heaviside subjected Lardner to a flogging; he was unable to persuade his wife to return with him. Later that year he successfully sued Lardner for ‘criminal conversation’ (adultery) and received a judgment of £8,000. The Heavisides were divorced in 1841, and in 1846 Lardner was able to marry Mary Heaviside. The scandal caused by his affair with a married woman effectively ended his career in England, so Lardner and his wife remained in Paris until shortly before his death in 1859. He was able to maintain his career by lecturing in the United States between 1841 and 1844, which proved financially rewarding.
He died in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy, and is buried in the Cimitero degli Inglesi
English Cemetery, Naples
The English Cemetery, Il Cimitero degli Inglesi, or more correctly, Il Cimitero acattolico di Santa Maria delle Fede, is located near Piazza Garibaldi, Naples, Italy...
there.
Disagreements with Brunel
Lardner became involved in a number of ill-advised public disagreements with Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
regarding technical matters, in which he came off the worse.
While Brunel was building the broad-gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, Lardner carried out some experiments with the company’s flagship locomotive, North Star. He asserted that, whilst the engine was capable of hauling 82 tons at 33 m.p.h., it was only capable of hauling 16 tons at 41 m.p.h. He also recorded excessive fuel consumption at higher speeds. Lardner attributed this to the greater wind resistance of broad-gauge engines. Brunel and his assistant Daniel Gooch
Daniel Gooch
Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet was an English railway and transatlantic cable engineer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1885...
carried out their own experiments on the same locomotive and found that the only problem was that the blast pipe was too small. This was easily rectified and the North Star’s performance immediately improved. At the next meeting of the company’s directors, Brunel triumphantly dismissed Lardner’s evidence.
Lardner also criticised Brunel's design of the Box Tunnel
Box Tunnel
Box Tunnel is a railway tunnel in Western England, between Bath and Chippenham, dug through Box Hill, and is one of the most significant structures on the Great Western Main Line...
on the Great Western Railway. The tunnel had a 1-in-100 gradient from the east end to the west end. Lardner asserted that if a train's brakes were to fail in the tunnel, it would accelerate to over 120 m.p.h., at which speed the passengers would suffocate. Brunel pointed out that Lardner’s calculations totally disregarded air-resistance and friction, a basic error.
When Brunel was proposing to build SS Great Western
SS Great Western
SS Great Western of 1838, was an oak-hulled paddle-wheel steamship; the first purpose-built for crossing the Atlantic and the initial unit of the Great Western Steamship Company. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Great Western proved satisfactory in service and was the model for all successful...
for the 3,500-mile transatlantic passage to New York, at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Lardner stated that:
As the project of making the voyage directly from New York to Liverpool, it was perfectly chimerical, and they might as well talk of making the voyage from New York to the moon… 2,080 miles is the longest run that a steamer could encounter – at the end of that distance she would require a relay of coals.Again, Brunel was able to show that Lardner’s calculations were too simplistic. The principle that Brunel understood, which Lardner did not, was that the carrying capacity of a ship increases as the cube of its dimensions, whilst the water-resistance only increases as the square of its dimensions. This meant that large ships were more fuel efficient, and could carry sufficient coal for the long voyage across the Atlantic. Brunel was proved right when the Great Western steamed into New York harbour with 200 tons of coal to spare.
Further information
Lardner is mentioned in Karl MarxKarl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
's 'Das Capital' and was well respected as an economist. He mixed with the rich and famous. He was involved in the founding of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and the first person to hold the post of Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy there. He was influential in publicising Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
's Difference engine
Difference engine
A difference engine is an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. Both logarithmic and trigonometric functions can be approximated by polynomials, so a difference engine can compute many useful sets of numbers.-History:...
.
Whilst lecturing in America Lardner was paid by Norris Brothers, the largest firm of locomotive builders, to investigate a fatal accident in Reading, near Philadelphia, where a boiler had exploded on a newly made train. Lardner pronounced that the accident had been caused by lightning, which meant that Norris brothers were not personally liable for the accident. A committee of the Franklin Institute pointed out that there was no lightning present at that time and that the pumps had been faulty, the water indicator was ill-designed and the bridge-bands made of cast iron rather than wrought iron. The Coroner's inquest jury were persuaded by Lardner that the accident was an 'act of God' but the company were careful to design their later locomotives with wrought-iron bands.
Famous statements
- Rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxiaAsphyxiaAsphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
. - Men might as well project a voyage to the Moon as attempt to employ steam navigation against the stormy North Atlantic Ocean.