death_date death_place religion birth_place citizenship nationality footnotes field work_institutions birth_date prizes image article_title name alma_mater
31 december 1868 clifton , bristol , england christianity edinburgh , scotland united kingdom scottish member place : dean cemetery , edinburgh of the highland society -lrb- 1836 -rrb- resting physics glaciology professor -- 60 -rrb- principal of the united college , st of andrews university -lrb- 1860 -- 8 -rrb- natural philosophy , edinburgh university -lrb- 1833 yes 20 april 1809 keith 1833-5 , 1841 -- 3 , 1863 -- 5 -rrb- prize rumford medal of the royal society -lrb- 1838 -rrb- gold of medal of the royal society -lrb- 1843 -rrb- the royal society of edinburgh -lrb- james david forbes.png james david forbes
 james david forbes edinburgh university
james david forbes

james david forbes -lrb- 20 april 1809 -- 31 december 1868 -rrb- was a scottish physicist and glaciologist who worked extensively on the conduction of heat and seismology .
forbes was a resident of edinburgh for most of his life , educated at the university and a professor there from 1833 until he became principal of the united college of st. andrews in 1859 .
he invented the seismometer in 1842 .
