1. The Last Man Who Knew Everything
- Author
-
Robinson, Andrew and Rees, Martin
- Subjects
Thomas Young ,physicist ,physician ,decipher ,Egyptologist ,Rosetta Stone ,biography ,thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general ,thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DND Diaries, letters and journals ,thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general::DNBT Biography: science, technology and medicine ,thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region ,thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt - Abstract
No one has given the polymath Thomas Young (1773–1829) the all-round examination he so richly deserves—until now. Celebrated biographer Andrew Robinson portrays a man who solved mystery after mystery in the face of ridicule and rejection, and never sought fame. As a physicist, Young challenged the theories of Isaac Newton and proved that light is a wave. As a physician, he showed how the eye focuses and proposed the three-colour theory of vision, only confirmed a century and a half later. As an Egyptologist, he made crucial contributions to deciphering the Rosetta Stone. It is hard to grasp how much Young knew. This biography is the fascinating story of a driven yet modest hero who cared less about what others thought of him than for the joys of an unbridled pursuit of knowledge—with a new foreword by Martin Rees and a new postscript discussing polymathy in the two centuries since the time of Young. It returns this neglected genius to his proper position in the pantheon of great scientific thinkers.
- Published
- 2023
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