Birthplace, 14 India St.: JCM's birthplace. Now housing a small museum run by the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation.
Ed Academy 1828: JCM attended school at Edinburgh Academy from 1841 to 1847.
From: "Modern Athens! Displayed in a Series of Views" by John Britton & Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, 1829
Ed Academy 2010: This view shows remarkable little change in external appearance from JCM's day.
31 Heriot Row: Home of JCM's widowed Aunt Isabella Wedderburn (sister of his father). It was here at "old 31" that JCM stayed for much of his time while studying at the Edinburgh Academy and Edinburgh University. Most of James' cousins were a good bit older than him, but he was close to Isabella's daughter, Jemima, whose watercolours have captured many scenes in JCM's young life.
Stairwell at 31: The young JCM and his cousin Jemima are reputed to have experimented with hot air balloons in this four storey stairwell. Jemima has recorded, in watercolour, similar experiments involving hot air balloons at Killearn (the estate of her future father-in-law, John Blackburn).
This stairwell is now access to the flat of Angus Reid, artist and poet. In this view we see part of Reid's installation "Domecstatic", larger-than-life silhouettes are framed by four poems that seek company as they climb towards the light.
Photo courtesy of Angus Reid
Stairwell at 31: Another view of the stairwell where JCM and Jemima Wedderburn experimented with hot air balloons.
It is good to see that there is an artistic continuity from Jemima to the present day Angus Reid.
Photo courtesy of Angus Reid
6 Great Stuart St: JCM's Aunt Jane Cay lived in a flat in this grand corner building in the New Town. The Great Stuart St frontage is on the left of the picture. The young JCM often stayed with Aunt Jane when it was not convenient to stay with Aunt Isabella.
St Andrew's: Church stands on the North side of George Street, Edinburgh. Maxwell's statue now stands at the east end of the street (below the Melville monument seen in the picture).
In the "The Life of James Clerk Maxwell", Campbell and Garnett record that JCM attended two churches whilst a pupil at the Edinburgh Academy: “On Sundays he generally went with his father to St. Andrew’s Church (Mr. Crawford’s) in the forenoon, and, by Miss Cay’s desire, to St. John’s Episcopal Chapel in the afternoon.”
From: "Modern Athens! Displayed in a Series of Views" by John Britton & Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, 1829
St John's 1845: Episcopal Church stands at the corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road, Edinburgh
In the "The Life of James Clerk Maxwell", Campbell and Garnett record that JCM attended two churches whilst a pupil at the Edinburgh Academy: “On Sundays he generally went with his father to St. Andrew’s Church (Mr. Crawford’s) in the forenoon, and, by Miss Cay’s desire, to St. John’s Episcopal Chapel in the afternoon.”
Image from an old post card: St John’s Chapel, Princes Street, from Castle Terrace. Coloured lithograph by Nicol after W Mason, c.1845
St John's 2010: Modern view of the church from Lothian Road.
Old College: Robert Adam's design of the east front of the new building for the University of Edinburgh.
Engraved in 1791
Old College 1827: East Front of the Old College, University of Edinburgh, as it was built in 1827.
This is how it would have looked when JCM was there.
Old College today: This is how the East Front of the Old College looks in the 21st Century. The dome, added in 1887, is similar to that in Adam's original design.
Courtesy of Jonathan Oldenbuck GNU Free Documentation License
JCMB: The James Clerk Maxwell Building houses the Schools of Mathematics and of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Edinburgh. It is situated at Peter Guthrie Tait Road on the King's Buildings science campus.
Designed by Hardie Glover of Basil Spence, Glover & Ferguson and erected in 1966.
JCM Statue (1): Statue of James Clerk Maxwell by Alexander "Sandy" Stoddart, Her Majesty's Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland. Alex Fergusson, presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament, speaking after unveiling the statue on George Street, Edinburgh, 25th November 2008.
Courtesy of The Royal Society of Edinburgh
JCM Statue (2): 25th November 2008, a crowd gathered around the statue of JCM in George Street, Edinburgh following the unveiling.