History of universities in Scotland perhaps the first of their kind in the world. His students founded practical chemistry at Aberdeen soon after. William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin was appointed to the chair of natural philosophy at Glasgow aged only 22. His work included the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. By 1870 Kelvin and Rankine had made Glasgow the leading centre of science and engineering education and investigation in Britain. At Edinburgh, major figures included David Brewster (1781–1868), who made contributions to the science of optics and to the development of photography. Fleeming Jenkin (1833–85) was
19th-century history of the Catholic Church in the United States 19th-century history of the Catholic Church in the United States The 19th-century history of the Catholic Church in the United States was characterized by several unsuccessful attempts by Catholics to culturally integrate themselves into the mainstream American culture of that century. Only during the 20th century did this fully succeed, with the election of John F. Kennedy to the presidency in 1960. During the 19th century, a wave of immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Eastern Europe and elsewhere swelled the number of Roman Catholics. Substantial numbers of Catholics also came from French Canada during the mid-19th century and settled in