1815-1888

Danish engineer and physicist who made important discoveries in hydrodynamics and designed the Copenhagen water supply system. Colding discovered the Law of Conservation of Energy independently of James Joule, then went on to make discoveries about the way water behaves. In particular, he determined the reasons for a flooding disaster in southern Denmark in 1872 (high winds at sea causing flooding ashore) and helped design drainage systems to divert groundwater to make land more useful.