Bücher von David Brewster

The Scottish natural philosopher and historian of science Sir David Brewster (1781-1868), best remembered as a friend of Sir Walter Scott and the inventor of the kaleidoscope, contributed reviews and articles on a huge variety of subjects to such periodicals as the Edinburgh Review and Fraser's Magazine. (His Letters on Natural Magic Addressed to Sir Walter Scott and his two-volume life of Isaac Newton are also reissued in this series). In this work, published in 1804, Brewster is determined to refute the allegations often directed against the Freemasons, as representing 'caverns of darkness, in which the most detestable schemes have been hatched'. He does so by tracing the history of the 'peaceful institution' of Freemasonry from antiquity until the end of the eighteenth century. He then describes the history of the Grand Lodge of Scotland from its institution in 1736, basing his account on the records of the Lodge.

Sir David Brewster (1781-1868) was a Scottish physicist of international reputation. This classic biography of Sir Isaac Newton, first published in 1855, was the result of over twenty years' research, using previously unknown correspondence. Brewster's own scientific interests, particularly in optics, gave him the ability to communicate Newton's work.

Intended as a supplement to Sir Walter Scott's 1830 Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, this 1832 publication seeks to explain and expose the science behind the alleged 'magic' of spiritualists and conjurors. David Brewster (1781-1868), a Scottish natural philosopher and historian of science, was highly regarded in his lifetime but has since faded into obscurity. Penned at the request of Scott, Brewster's friend and neighbour, this book follows an epistolary structure, consisting of thirteen letters each addressing and exposing different aspects of the alleged supernatural activity, in keeping with the format of Scott's publication. Brewster's subject matter includes optics, magic lanterns, automata, alchemy, fire-breathing, spontaneous combustion, spectral illusions and various other phenomena. In each case he carefully outlines how this 'magic' is created with optical illusion, narcotic drugs, gas inhalation, and chemical tricks. The book offers an intriguing insight into nineteenth-century attitudes towards the supernatural.

Sir David Brewster (1781-1868) was a distinguished scientist and inventor who frequently turned the results of his research to practical ends; his work on the diffraction of light, for example, led to his developing improved reflectors for lighthouses and inventing two popular Victorian toys, the stereoscope and the kaleidoscope. He was also active as the editor of the Edinburgh Magazine and the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia (1808-1830) and contributed to the seventh and eighth editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, as well as writing many articles for a variety of philosophical and scientific journals. He was deeply religious, and in More Worlds Than One (1854) he set out to counter the arguments against extra-terrestrial life of William Whewell's recently published Of the Plurality of Worlds (also reissued in this series), urging that Whewell's 'extraordinary doctrine' was wrong on scientific grounds.