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John Michell (25 December 1724 – 29 April 1793) was an English clergyman and natural philosopher who provided pioneering insights in a wide range of scientific fields, including astronomy, geology, optics, and gravitation. Considered "one of the greatest unsung scientists of all time",〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=On-line: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY )〕 he was the first person known to propose the existence of black holes in publication, the first to suggest that earthquakes travel in waves, the first to explain how to manufacture artificial magnets, and the first to apply statistics to the study of the cosmos, recognizing that double stars were a product of mutual gravitation. He also invented an apparatus to measure the mass of the Earth. He has been called both the father of seismology and the father of magnetometry. According to one source, "a few specifics of Michell's work really do sound like they are ripped from the pages of a twentieth century astronomy textbook." The American Physical Society (APS) has described Michell as being "so far ahead of his scientific contemporaries that his ideas languished in obscurity, until they were re-invented more than a century later." The APS states that while "he was one of the most brilliant and original scientists of his time, Michell remains virtually unknown today, in part because he did little to develop and promote his own path-breaking ideas."〔(【引用サイトリンク】 work =APS Physics )〕 ==Early life, education and professional positions== John Michell was born in 1724 in Eakring, in Nottinghamshire, the son of Gilbert Michell, a priest, and Obedience Gerrard. Gilbert was the son of William Michell and Mary Taylor of Kenwyn, Cornwall; Obedience was the daughter of Ralph and Hannah Gerrard of London. He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, and later became a Fellow of Queens'. He obtained his M.A. degree in 1752 and B.D. degree in 1761. He was Tutor of the College from 1751 to 1763 ; Praelector in Arithmetic in 1751; Censor in Theology in 1752; Praelector in Geometry in 1753 ; Praelector in Greek in 1755 and 1759; Senior Bursar in 1756; Praelector in Hebrew in 1759 and 1762 ; Censor in Philosophy and Examiner in 1760. "He was nominated Rector of St Botolph's, Cambridge, on 28th March 1760, and held this living until June 1763." From 1762 to 1764, he held the Woodwardian Chair of Geology till he was obliged to relinquish it on his marriage.〔 There is no surviving portrait of Michell; he is said to have been "a little short man, of black complexion, and fat."〔He was thus described by a contemporary commentator: "John Michell, BD is a little short Man, of a black Complexion, and fat; but having no Acquaintance with him, can say little of him. I think he had the care of St. Botolph’s Church Cambridge, while he continued Fellow of Queen's College, where he was esteemed a very ingenious Man, and an excellent Philosopher. He has published some things in that way, on the Magnet and Electricity." Cole MSS XXXIII, 156, British Library.〕 In 1910, Sir Edmund Whittaker observed that during the century after Newton’s death, "the only natural philosopher of distinction who lived and taught at Cambridge was Michell", although his "researches seem to have attracted little or no attention among his collegiate contemporaries and successors, who silently acquiesced when his discoveries were attributed to others, and allowed his name to perish entirely from Cambridge tradition." Michell proceeded to take up clerical positions in Compton and then Havant, both in Hampshire. During this period he unsuccessfully sought positions at Cambridge and as astronomer royal.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】 work =HEP )〕 In 1767, he was appointed rector of St. Michael's Church of Thornhill, near Leeds, Yorkshire, England, a post he held for the rest of his life. He did most of his important scientific work in Thornhill, where he died on 21 April 1793, at age 68. He is buried there.〔〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】 work =Messier )〕 After local pressure, a blue plaque went up on the church wall to commemorate him. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Michell」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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