Thompson, Sir Benjamin, Count von Rumford, 1753-1814. Knight. Count. Natural Philosopher. Soldier. Administrator.

Benjamin Thompson was born the son of Benjamin Thompson and Ruth Simonds, in Woburn, Massachusetts, North America, in 1753. He had little formal schooling and educated himself by reading books. Later, he attended lectures at Harvard University and became a school teacher. He moved to Concord, New Hampshire and in 1772, he married Sarah Walker Rolfe, a wealthy widow; they had one daughter. In 1775, they separated permanently. Thompson then became an active member of the Tory party and fled to London, England at the fall of Boston. He was given employment at the Colonial Office and occupied himself with various experiments such as the optimal position of firing vents in canons and the velocity of shot. In 1779 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1780 he was made under-secretary for the colonies and later returned to America as Lieutenant-Colonel in the American Dragoons of George III. In 1784 he was knighted. From 1784-1795, he joined the service of the court of the elector of Bavaria and became head of the Bavarian Army. In 1793, he was made a Count of the Holy Roman Empire and took the name of Count (von) Rumford. He continued his scientific work and showed that heat was lost through convection and as a result he made military cloth to be more insulating. He made soup a staple and nutritional diet for the poor. He also designed a drip-type coffee maker, the double boiler and pots and pans to be used on his `insulated box' more commonly known as a stove. He later designed more efficient fire places whereby the size of the throat was enlarged according to the size of the fire place in order to reduce the amount of smoke emissions. He studied light and made standard candles, and later used steam for efficient production in the manufacture of soap and dye and also in breweries. In 1796, he gave a large amount of money to the Royal Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston, America, for scientific research prizes into heat and light. In 1799, he helped found the Royal Institution of Great Britain (RI) with the idea of making it into a museum for technology to educate the poor. He established lectures and gained money from the aristocracy in order to fund the RI, introducing Humphry Davy (later Sir) and Thomas Young as early professors. However, he lost interest in the running of the RI and went to Paris, France, where he married Marie-Anne, widow of Antoine Lavoisier. The marriage failed and he retired to Auteuil, France, where he later died in 1814. Many of his papers were reprinted, for example under S. C. Brown, The Nature of Heat, 1968; Practical Applications of Heat, 1969; Devices and Techniques, 1969; Light and Armament, 1970; Public Institutions, 1970.