Electric dreams of a scientific pioneer

Asign in the waiting room at Dundee railway station informed me the first radio broadcast took place in the city.

But it didn’t furnish me with any more details, so can you tell me any more, Queries Man? – M.

James Lindsay was born in the Angus village of Carmyllie in 1799 and became a pioneer in the field of electricity.

He earned a place at St Andrews University, studying mathematics and physics. In 1929, he moved to Dundee and became a lecturer at the Watt Institute. In 1832, in the single room of his house, Lindsay began experiments in magnetism and electricity.

He foresaw the application of electricity to power, light and a telegraph, and that is when he made the first ever wireless broadcast, after inventing the electric telegraph.

However, prompted by several fires which had claimed the lives of workers in the local jute mills, Lindsay saw the need for a safe method of lighting and devoted most of his time to the subject.

After his death in 1862, a memorial was erected which describes him as: “A pioneer of electrical science; foretold the application of electricity as an illuminant, a motive power to replace steam and a substitute for coal in heating.

“He devised an electric telegraph, suggested welding by electricity, produced a continuous electric light, proposed a submarine transatlantic telegraph, and accomplished wireless telegraphy through water.

“An accomplished scientist, a profound student and an earnest Christian.”