1820-1872

Scottish engineer and scientist who made technical and scientific advances in thermodynamics, steam engines, and applied mechanics. Rankine was chair of engineering at Glasgow University for many years and wrote standard textbooks on steam power, shipbuilding, and applied mechanics. His scientific research added a great deal to the fields of thermodynamics and theories of elasticity and waves. He was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1853 in recognition of his contributions to science and engineering.