James Clerk Maxwell

James Clerk Maxwell (June 13, 1831-November 5, 1879) was a 19th century scientist of chemistry and mathematical physics. He studied at the University of Cambridge and held a number of positions as a professor at Edinburgh, Cambridge, Marischal College, and King's College. Though he made many innovations in his gas velocity and optics research, Maxwell is best remembered for his theories in electromagnetism. Known as Maxwell's Equations, these developments brought together theories of electricity, magnetism, and light for the first time. In the publication A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field, Maxwell demonstrates that electric and magnetic fields travel as waves and move at the speed of light. This observation influenced modern physics so greatly that Maxwell's Equations are considered, after Newton's discoveries, the second great unification in physics.