John Robison (February 4, 1739 - January 30, 1805) was a Scottish physicist and inventor. He was a professor of philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events January 1 - Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... A physicist is a scientist trained in physics. ... An inventor is a person who creates new inventions, typically technical devices such as mechanical, electrical or software devices or methods. ... A professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) (or prof for short) is a senior teacher, lecturer and/or researcher usually employed by a college or university. ... The Philosopher (detail), by Rembrandt Philosophy is a study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics. ... The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

He was born in Boghall, Stirlingshire, Scotland and attended Glasgow Grammar School and the University of Glasgow. After a brief stay in London in 1758 Robison accompanied Thomas Wolfe on his expedition to Quebec. His mathematical skills were employed in navigation and surveying. Returning to England in 1762, he joined the Board of Longitude - a team of scientists who tested John Harrison’s marine chronometer on a voyage to Jamaica. Stirlingshire (Siorrachd Sruighlea in Gaelic) is a traditional county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the traditional county town. ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... The University of Glasgow, founded in 1451, is the largest of the three universities in Glasgow, Scotland. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation) and Defining London (below). ... Photo by Carl Van Vechten For the modern, currently living author and journalist, see Tom Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900–September 15, 1938) was a famous American novelist. ... Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Official languages French Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 75 24 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 1st 1,542,056 km² 1,183,128 km² 176,928... Euclid, detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. ... There are several traditions of navigation. ... There are several uses of the word survey: // Kinds of surveys Statistical surveys are used in marketing and polling research. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my [birth]right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Board of Longitude was a British Government body formed in 1714 to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Science The scope of this article is limited to empirical sciences. ... For other people with this name, see John Harrison (disambiguation). ... A chronometer is a clock accurate enough to be used as a portable time standard on a vehicle, usually in order to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation. ...

On his return he settled in Glasgow engaging in the practical science of James Watt and Joseph Black in opposition to the systematic continental European chemistry of Antoine Lavoisier and its adherents such as Joseph Priestly. In 1766 he succeeded Black as Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. James Watt James Watt (19 January 1736 – 19 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor and engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution. ... Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 - 10 November 1799) was a Scottish physicist and chemist. ... Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (August 26, 1743 – May 8, 1794) was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry, finance, biology, and economics. ... Joseph Priestley (March 13, 1733 - February 6, 1804) was an English chemist, dissenting clergyman, and educator. ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Multicolored chemicals are frequent hallmarks of chemistry. ...

In 1770 he travelled with Admiral Charles Knowles to St Petersburg where he taught mathematics to the cadets at the Naval Academy. Robison returned to Scotland in 1773 and took up the post of Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He lectured on mechanics, hydrostatics, astronomy, optics, electricity and magnetism. His conception of mechanical philosophy’ became influential in nineteenth-century British physics. His name appears in the 1776 Minute Book of The Poker Club, a crucible of the Scottish Enlightenment. In 1783 he became General Secretary of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and in 1797 his articles for the Encyclopaedia Britannica gave a good account of the scientific, mathematical and technological knowledge of the day. He also prepared for publication, in 1799, the chemical lectures of his friend and mentor, Joseph Black. 1770 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Admiral is a word from the Arabic term Amir-al-bahr (commander of the sea). ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Natural philosophy is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe before the development of modern science. ... The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Mechanics refers to: a craft relating to machinery (from the Latin mechanicus, from the Greek mechanikos, meaning one skilled in machines), or a range of disciplines in science and engineering. ... Hydrostatics, also known as fluid statics, is the study of fluids at rest. ... Lunar astronomy: the large crater is Daedalus, photographed by the crew of Apollo 11 as they circled the Moon in 1969. ... Table of Opticks, 1728 Cyclopaedia Optics (appearance or look in ancient Greek) is a branch of physics that describes the behavior and properties of light and the interaction of light with matter. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... In physics, magnetism is one of the phenomena by which materials exert an attractive or repulsive force on other materials. ... A Superconductor demonstrating the Meissner Effect. ... The Scottish Enlightenment was a period of intellectual ferment in Scotland, running from approximately 1740 to 1800. ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Royal Society of Edinburghs Building on the corner of George St. ... 1797 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... ...

Robsion worked with James Watt on an early steam car. This project came to nothing and has no direct connection to Watt's later improvement of the Newcomen Engine. He along with Joseph Black and others gave evidence about Watt's originality and their own lack of connection to his key idea of the Separate Condenser. James Watt James Watt (19 January 1736 – 19 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor and engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution. ... The 1923 Stanley Steam Car A steam car is a car that has a steam engine. ... Diagram of the Newcomen steam engine Thomas Newcomens atmospheric engine, today referred to as a Newcomen steam engine, was the first practical device to harness the power of steam to produce mechanical work. ...

Robison did however invent the siren, though it was Charles Cagniard de la Tour who named it after producing an improved model. Pneumatic siren Sirens are devices making sound to alarm others, such as the air raid siren or the sirens on emergency service vehicles such as ambulances, police cars and fire engines. ... Charles Cagniard de la Tour (March 31, 1777 - July 5, 1859), French engineer and physicist, was born in Paris, and after attending the École Polytechnique became one of the ingenieurs geographiques. ...

Towards the end of his life, he became an enthusiastic conspiracy theorist, publishing Proofs of a Conspiracy... in 1797, alleging clandestine intrigue by the illuminati and free masons. (The work's full title was Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, carried on in the secret meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati and Reading Societies.) Robison's theory was reworked by Abbé Barruél to include Jews. Robison himself showed no interest in Europe's Jewish minority, saying nothing either for or against them. He was himself a freemason, but believed continental freemaonry had been infiltrated by 'illuminati' etc. This proposed logo for the US Information Awareness Office was dropped due to fears that its pseudo-Masonic symbolism would provoke conspiracy theories. ... 1797 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Illuminati is the name of many groups, modern and historical, real and fictitious, verified and alleged. ... American Square & Compasses Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization. ... Abbé Augustin Barruél (October 2, 1741 - October 5, 1820) was a Jesuit priest mostly known for originally inventing the conspiracy theory involving the Knights Templar, the Bavarian Illuminati and the Jacobins in his book Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism (original title Mémoires pour servir à lHistoire du... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one. ... The Grand Orient de France is the oldest masonic organisation in Continental Europe, founded in 1728. ...

External links

• Biography at Significant Scots

• John Robison 1739–1805