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William Swan
1818 - 1894
William Swan (1818 - 1894) was a Scottish physicist best known for his 1856 discovery of the Swan band.
William Swan was Professor of Natural Philosophy in the United College of St. Andrews University from 1859 to 1880. In 1880 he compiled an extensive catalogue listing all the scientific equipment in the department, including the historic instruments. Swan's catalogue entries are meticulous, and also reveal a dry sense of humour: for example, he describes a wooden clock as, "ferociously coarse and useless." Some of the instruments he catalogued still exist today in the School of Physics and Astronomy, such as the armilliary sphere, Gregorian telescope and astrolabes.
Swan's main passion was optics, especially spectroscopy. He is credited with inventing the `Swan Spectrometer', which is little known today, although Swan published numerous articles on the subject. He was awarded the Royal Scottish Society of Arts Gold Medal for his work in November 1843.
William Swan was Professor of Natural Philosophy in the United College of St. Andrews University from 1859 to 1880. In 1880 he compiled an extensive catalogue listing all the scientific equipment in the department, including the historic instruments. Swan's catalogue entries are meticulous, and also reveal a dry sense of humour: for example, he describes a wooden clock as, "ferociously coarse and useless." Some of the instruments he catalogued still exist today in the School of Physics and Astronomy, such as the armilliary sphere, Gregorian telescope and astrolabes.
Swan's main passion was optics, especially spectroscopy. He is credited with inventing the `Swan Spectrometer', which is little known today, although Swan published numerous articles on the subject. He was awarded the Royal Scottish Society of Arts Gold Medal for his work in November 1843.
A. D. Morrison-Low, ‘Swan, William (1818–1894)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2009 [http://www.oxforddnb.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/view/article/26820, accessed 21 July 2015]