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365:. He returned to Scotland via Peking and St Petersburg, crossing the Gobi desert and Siberia in 1875. Nearly 25 years later Forbes wrote up his overland odyssey – it was a journey that few seasoned western explorers had made, much less lone travellers in their mid-20s. With contacts made on this journey, Forbes was able to become the only British
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for £2,000. There is no evidence that he received any UK royalties. In the obituary published in the
Proceedings of the Philosophical Society, G. L. Addenbroke wrote that 'Forbes always referred to this work with much modesty, but there can be no doubt that, he presented to the World an idea of
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George Forbes was described in his obituaries as a man with a "stern code of honour" who "thought much of his work and little of his reward". A friend, the engineer Samuel Mavor, was more effusive: for him, Forbes "was the best type of
Scottish gentleman, of tall and handsome appearance... he had a
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Forbes did not marry and, in his last years, became something of a recluse, disillusioned that his obvious talents had earned him neither fame nor fortune. He lived in increasing poverty, though in 1928 friends did successfully petition a variety of organisations for assistance on his behalf. Until
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to house his library. Forbes's family had frequently holidayed in
Pitlochry and his father had befriended the Butters – the area's main landowners – who initially leased and eventually sold Forbes the land on which his house stood. This house, which he called
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In 1882, Forbes became manager of the
British Electric Light Company, manufacturers of carbon filaments and arc lamps. He experimented with using carbon for the brushes in electric motors, rather than wire or gauze and in 1885 took out a patent for the
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and the hydroelectric scheme Forbes had proposed in the early 1900s. In
Pitlochry he returned to an earlier interest, from 1906 to 1930 delivering the David Elder lectures on Astronomy at the Royal Technical College in
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great engineering and commercial value, the importance of which he does not seem to have fully grasped at the time.' For another take on Forbes's "modesty" see
Blackwood's Magazine, Vol. CLVIII, Pg. 430.
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would prove outstandingly successful and it is in universal use in electricity generation to this day. He could have become a rich man with such an innovation but he sold his
American patent rights to
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close to the end of his life, Pitlochry was his home. Eventually, however, friends insisted that he move south where he could be more easily cared for. He died in an accident at his home in
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In 1880 Forbes resigned from
Anderson's University and moved to London. For the next two decades he devoted himself to electrical power engineering. Commissioned to report on how the
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He wrote and lectured widely about astronomy for professional and popular audiences. He predicted the existence of a trans-Neptunian planet fifty years before the discovery of
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Arguably his most important work was as a supervising engineer for several pioneering hydroelectric schemes. From 1891 to 1895, Forbes was consulting engineer on the
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that was still in use by the Navy at the outset of the Second World War. During the First World War he was involved in devising methods of
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was a large wooden structure with an observatory on the upper storey. It overlooks the valley that in the 1950s would be flooded to create
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Improved Means for
Establishing Electric Connection between Surfaces in Relative Motion Applicable to the Collectors of Dynamo Machines
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hydroelectric scheme. He also advised on other schemes, in India (1893), South Africa (1895), New
Zealand (1896) and Egypt (1898).
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singularly attractive personality, fine character, a brilliant intellect and the manners of a courtier."
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with the Russian army in the Russo-Turkish war of 1877, reporting for The Times. He received the Russian
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Chauvin, Michael E. (1 January 1993). "Astronomy in the Sandwich Islands: the 1874 Transit of Venus".
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535:(1926), and numerous contributions to learned journals were all produced during this time.
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After the turn of the century, Forbes turned to military work, studying techniques of
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honoured his memory in 1987 by naming a new student hall of residence after him.
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Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002
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Fleming, J. A.; Thompson, D. W. (1938). "George Forbes. 1849-1936".
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In 1880, George Forbes was the first to postulate the existence of
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519:(1895). Once he settled in Pitlochry, his output became prolific:
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should be powered, he recommended electricity. Soon the entire
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would follow his advice. In 1881 he served as a juror at the
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In 1873 he was appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy at
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and Alicia Wauchope. His father was later Principal of
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Forbes published throughout his life. Titles include
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579:Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1849-50
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674:Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society
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387:that were somewhat similar to the hypothetical
258:on 5 April 1849, Forbes was the second son of
930:Members of the American Philosophical Society
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517:Alternating and Interrupted Electric Currents
318:Paris Exposition Internationale d'Electricite
925:Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame inductees
915:Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
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349:Astronomical expeditions and explorations
108:Learn how and when to remove this message
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910:Alumni of the University of St Andrews
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320:. He was subsequently admitted to the
533:The Wonder and the Glory of the Stars
456:. Forbes was elected a Member of the
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905:People educated at Edinburgh Academy
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46:adding citations to reliable sources
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751:"Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame"
458:Institution of Electrical Engineers
444:in 1887. He was also Fellow of the
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895:Recipients of the Legion of Honour
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359:expedition to the Sandwich Islands
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480:Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame
478:In 2021 he was inducted into the
280:St Catharine's College, Cambridge
212:St Catharine's College, Cambridge
880:19th-century British astronomers
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890:19th-century Scottish inventors
836:Works by or about George Forbes
701:"Library and Archive Catalogue"
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294:, Glasgow, (the nucleus of the
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529:David Gill, Man and Astronomer
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57:"George Forbes" scientist
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327:In 1906 he built a home near
310:City and South London Railway
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920:Fellows of the Royal Society
885:British electrical engineers
564:Resources in other libraries
452:, MInstCE and Member of the
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851:(public domain audiobooks)
609:Hawaiian Journal of History
594:A Cambridge Alumni Database
590:"Forbes, George (FRBS867G)"
454:Vienna Astronomiches Verein
442:Fellow of the Royal Society
238:(1849–1936) was a Scottish
207:Christ's College, Cambridge
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596:. University of Cambridge.
450:Royal Astronomical Society
446:Royal Society of Edinburgh
900:Scientists from Edinburgh
755:engineeringhalloffame.org
559:Resources in your library
550:George Forbes (scientist)
473:University of Strathclyde
296:University of Strathclyde
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266:. Forbes was educated at
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525:Star Talks to Boy Scouts
272:University of St Andrews
254:Born at 3 Park Place in
202:University of St Andrews
513:Lectures on Electricity
385:trans-Neptunian planets
322:French Legion of Honour
845:Works by George Forbes
827:Works by George Forbes
687:10.1098/rsbm.1938.0008
630:George Forbes (1880).
440:Forbes was elected a
414:Westinghouse Electric
355:1874 Transit of Venus
292:Anderson's University
264:St Andrews University
730:search.amphilsoc.org
726:"APS Member History"
521:History of Astronomy
509:The Transit of Venus
495:on 22 October 1936.
42:improve this article
648:1880Natur..21..562F
240:electrical engineer
805:on 24 January 2013
632:"The Comet 1861 I"
436:Honours and awards
371:Order of St George
363:George Lyon Tupman
314:London Underground
260:James David Forbes
831:Project Gutenberg
545:Library resources
391:in the far outer
367:war correspondent
268:Edinburgh Academy
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800:the original
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164:5 April 1849
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40:Please help
35:verification
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875:1936 deaths
870:1849 births
761:19 February
531:(1916) and
515:(1888) and
426:rangefinder
389:Planet Nine
864:Categories
710:3 December
681:(6): 282.
539:References
486:Later life
466:St Andrews
430:signalling
399:Inventions
250:Early life
244:astronomer
170:, Scotland
160:1849-04-05
68:newspapers
617:10524/149
410:invention
329:Pitlochry
256:Edinburgh
189:, England
168:Edinburgh
849:LibriVox
527:(1911),
511:(1874),
493:Worthing
353:For the
334:The Shed
187:Worthing
838:at the
735:1 April
644:Bibcode
523:(1909)
422:gunnery
343:Glasgow
82:scholar
809:23 May
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757:. 2012
636:Nature
547:about
460:, the
286:Career
270:, the
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803:(PDF)
782:(PDF)
378:Pluto
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89:JSTOR
75:books
811:2016
790:ISBN
763:2022
737:2024
712:2010
471:The
278:and
235:FRAS
231:FRSE
176:Died
154:Born
137:FRAS
133:FRSE
61:news
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