# Talk:James Clerk Maxwell

"Einstein, when he visited the University of Cambridge in 1922, was told by his host that he had done great things because he stood on Newton's shoulders; Einstein replied: "No I don't. I stand on the shoulders of Maxwell."" On looking up the reference, it is discovered that the book attributes the story to something "recounted by the American physicist Frederick Seitz". Seitz was born in 1911 in the US and would have been 11 in 1922. It is not clear he ever went to Cambridge or who he got the story from. "The Fire i' the Flint" doesn't give a reference for Seitz's story. It sounds like the kind of thing people want Einstein to have said. Removed as it falls well short of Wikipedia's standards for reliable sources. It appears from Seitz's Wikipedia article that he was "a central figure amongst global warming deniers" and that he "played a key role... in helping the tobacco industry produce uncertainty concerning the health impacts of smoking." Burraron (talk) 14:36, 13 June 2023 (UTC)

A paper in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society gives a different version of the story, that Einstein made the statement to a group of reporters in England on his first visit after the war. Schazjmd (talk) 14:51, 13 June 2023 (UTC)

The subject's family name appears to me to be "Clerk Maxwell", a double-barrelled name. See d:Q9095#P734 for references. More references would be beneficial to confirm the matter.
To be clear, ODNB is a source in evidence against regarding this as a double-barrelled name. ODNB seems to have a custom of ignoring unhyphenated double-barreled names for article titles, but using them in the body of articles, eg. "George, David Lloyd, first Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34570. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.). The surname used in the body is "Maxwell" in "Maxwell, James Clerk". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/5624. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.) I have not surveyed more ODNB articles of people with double-barrelled names to verify if they are consistent in their custom.
Although I don't see a policy on the matter, the articles linked from Double-barrelled name § Unhyphenated double-barrelled names all use the double-barrelled name throughout the article to refer to the subject, so the implied consensus of editors seems clear. If we believe it is, in fact, a double-barrelled name, it should be used throughout this article as well. Daask (talk) 20:08, 6 December 2024 (UTC)

Clerk is said the same as Clark, for those who have not heard Athanasius V (talk) 15:36, 16 February 2025 (UTC)

Mr Wanlop Sanajumnong District Chief of Mueang Saraburi 2001:FB1:15C:7E0C:844B:DC69:CA76:8FF6 (talk) 01:06, 23 October 2025 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. - Umby 🌕🐶 (talk · contribs) 01:12, 23 October 2025 (UTC)