James Douglas Hamilton Dickson

“ The earlier portion was written by Tait. Thomson's hand is more apparent in the later portion. The work was epoch-marking, and created a revolution in scientific development. For the first time 'T & T,' as the authors called themselves, traced to Newton (Principia, Lex iii.. Scholium) the concept of the 'conservation of energy' which was just then obtaining recognition among physicists, and they showed once for all that 'energy' was the fundamental physical entity and that its 'conservation' was its predominating and all-controlling property. ”

“ He was made hon. fellow of Peterhouse in 1885. Resigning his professorship early in 1901, Tait died at Edinburgh on 4 July 1901, and was buried there.
Sir George Reid painted three portraits of Tait: one is the property of the family; another, which has been engraved, hangs in the rooms of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the third is in the hall of his college, Peterhouse, Cambridge.
Two scholarships in scientific research were founded in Tait's memory at Edinburgh university, and a sum of money contributed to improve the apparatus in the natural philosophy department. ”

“ Although his laboratory was not a formal institution definitely housed in College buildings till 1868, nevertheless, following the example of his predecessors, he until then used for laboratory purposes his class-room and private room in college. At first he leaned to the chemical side. He continued his investigations on the properties of ozone, which he had begun with Andrews at Belfast, and in 1862 worked with James Alfred Wanklyn [q. v. Suppl. II] on the production of electricity by evaporation and during effervescence. ”

“ For more than thirty years Routh's chief energies were spent at Cambridge in preparing private pupils for the mathematical tripos. On Steele's early death he became the chief mathematical coach in the university, and the successes of his pupils were unprecedented. ”

“ The eldest son, Edward Airy, a lieutenant in the royal artillery, died in 1892 from the effects of service in Egypt; and the youngest, Rupert John, in the Indian civil service, died at the beginning of a promising career in September 1907. ”

“ After graduating, Hamblin Smith became a private tutor at Cambridge in mathematics, classics and theology. He was lecturer in classics at Peterhouse from 1868 to 1872. The career of private 'coach' he pursued with success till near his death. ”

“ Two of her brothers were among Tait's friends at Peterhouse, and one of these, James, was master from 1876 to 1901.
In 1860 Tait was elected professor of natural philosophy at Edinburgh in succession to James David Forbes [q. v.] The candidates included Clerk Maxwell and Edward John Routh [q. v. Suppl. II] . Tait's prochvity lay towards physical rather than purely mathematical work. On his arrival in Edinburgh he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and four years later became one of its secretaries. ”

“ Tait early came into contact with (Sir) William Thomson (afterwards Lord Kelvin) [q. v. Suppl. II] , who had become fellow of Peterhouse in 1845, but had left Cambridge next year to become professor of natural philosophy at Glasgow. In that capacity Thomson first made Tait's acquaintance. ”

“ He had the power of simplifying mathematical reasoning, and produced to that end the unitary method in arithmetic and a simple and ingenious plan for the conversion into l.s.d. of money expressed in decimals, a development of which simplifies the process of long division in a large class of cases (Brit. Assoc. Report, 1902, p. 529; Caius College Magazine, Michs. Term, 1902) . ”

“ In 1881 he dealt with the physical side of the 'Challenger' reports, especially with the effect of pressure on the readings of thermometers used in deep-sea soundings, and on the compressibility of water and alcohol. ”

“ His senior wranglers included Lord Justice Stirling (1861) , Lord Justice Romer (1863) , Lord Rayleigh (1865, chancellor of Cambridge University) , Lord Moulton (1868) , John Hopkinson (1871) , (Sir) Donal McAlister (1877, principal of Glasgow University) , (Sir) Joseph Larmor (1880, M.P. for Cambridge University) ; and of other wranglers may be mentioned (Sir) J. J. Thomson, O.M., (Sir) C. A. Parsons, Lord Justice Buckley, and (Sir) Richard Solomon. Of the 990 wranglers between 1862 and 1888, 480 were Routh's pupils. ”