caption death_date death_place religion birth_place citizenship awards image_size nationality birth_date signature image article_title name
james clerk maxwell -lrb- 1831 -- 1879 -rrb- 5 november 1879 cambridge , england elder of the church of scotland edinburgh , scotland british smith 1857 -rrb- rumford medal -lrb- 1860 -rrb- keith prize -lrb- 's 1869 -- 71 -rrb- prize -lrb- 1854 -rrb- adams prize -lrb- 225px scottish 13 june 1831 james clerk maxwell sig.svg james clerk maxwell.png james clerk maxwell
 james clerk maxwell
james clerk maxwell

james clerk maxwell -lrb- 13 june 1831 -- 5 november 1879 -rrb- was a scottish scientist in the field of mathematical physics .
his most notable achievement was to formulate the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation , bringing together for the first time electricity , magnetism , and light as manifestations of the same phenomenon .
maxwell 's equations for electromagnetism have been called the `` second great unification in physics '' after the first one realised by isaac newton .
with the publication of `` a dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field '' in 1865 , maxwell demonstrated that electric and magnetic fields travel through space as waves moving at the speed of light .
maxwell proposed that light is an undulation in the same medium that is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena .
the unification of light and electrical phenomena led to the prediction of the existence of radio waves .
maxwell helped develop the maxwell -- boltzmann distribution , a statistical means of describing aspects of the kinetic theory of gases .
he is also known for presenting the first durable colour photograph in 1861 and for his foundational work on analysing the rigidity of rod-and-joint frameworks -lrb- trusses -rrb- like those in many bridges .
his discoveries helped usher in the era of modern physics , laying the foundation for such fields as special relativity and quantum mechanics .
many physicists regard maxwell as the 19th-century scientist having the greatest influence on 20th-century physics .
his contributions to the science are considered by many to be of the same magnitude as those of isaac newton and albert einstein .
in the millennium poll -- a survey of the 100 most prominent physicists -- maxwell was voted the third greatest physicist of all time , behind only newton and einstein .
on the centenary of maxwell 's birthday , einstein described maxwell 's work as the `` most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of newton '' .
