Thomas Lomar Gray was a Scottish engineer noted for his pioneering work in seismology

Seismology

Seismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other planet-like bodies. The field also includes studies of earthquake effects, such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, oceanic,...

.

Early life

Born in Lochgelly

Lochgelly

Lochgelly is a town in Fife, Scotland. It is located between Lochs Ore and Gelly to the north-west and south-east respectively. It is separated from Cowdenbeath by the village of Lumphinnans. According to the 2007 population estimate, the town has a population of 6,834.-History:From the 1830s...

, Fife

Fife

Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

, 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...

, Gray graduated in 1878 from the University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

 with a B.Sc. in engineering. At Glasgow, he awarded the Cleland Medal for "An Experimental Determination of Magnetic Moments in Absolute Measurements."

Career

At the recommendation of John Milne

John Milne

For other uses, see John Milne .John Milne was the British geologist and mining engineer who worked on a horizontal seismograph.-Biography:...

, he was hired by the government of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 as a foreign advisor and arrived in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 in 1879 to assume to post of Professor of Telegraph Engineering in the Physical Laboratories at the Tokyo Imperial University. Later, while working at the Imperial College of Engineering

Imperial College of Engineering

The Imperial College of Engineering was founded as a university at Tokyo in 1873, though its predecessor the existed from 1871. The name "Kobu Daigakko" dates from 1877. In modern-day parlance it would have been called an institute of technology....

 in Tokyo, he helped John Milne and James Alfred Ewing

James Alfred Ewing

Sir James Alfred Ewing KCB FRS FRSE MInstitCE was a Scottish physicist and engineer, best known for his work on the magnetic properties of metals and, in particular, for his discovery of, and coinage of the word, hysteresis.It was said of Ewing that he was 'Careful at all times of his appearance,...

 develop the first modern seismometer

Seismometer

Seismometers are instruments that measure motions of the ground, including those of seismic waves generated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other seismic sources...

s from 1880 to 1895. Although all three men worked as a team on the invention and use of seismographs, John Milne is generally credited with the invention of the first modern horizontal-pendulum seismograph.

Gray joined Milne and Ewing in founding the Seismological Society of Japan

Seismological Society of Japan

The or SSJ is a learned society with the goal of advancing the understanding of earthquakes and other seismic phenomena.-History:...

 (SSJ) in 1880.

Among Gray's colleagues in Japan was Thomas C. Mendenhall. Inn 1888, Mendenhall encouraged him to join the faculty of Rose Polytechnic Institute of Technology, now Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology , formerly Rose Polytechnic Institute, is a small private college specializing in teaching engineering, mathematics, and science. RHIT is highly regarded for its undergraduate engineering program, which US News and World Reports ranked in 2011 as No...

 in Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. His title was Professor of Dynamic Engineering. He was vice president of Rose Polytechnic from 1891 through 1908. He died on 19 December 1908.