James Ferguson: The poor lad who became an 18th-century phenomenon

James Ferguson is almost forgotten about nowadays, but in the 18th century he was a phenomenon, a self-educated astronomer and philosopher whose books sold widely and whose lectures on various subjects were the equivalent of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures today.

He was the archetypal Scottish “lad o’ pairts”, at ease discussing subjects ranging from physics, mathematics, and astronomy to philosophy and religion. He was a successful painter, particularly of miniature portraits, and also invented, designed and made scientific instruments to advance his astronomical work in particular. Yet he only ever attended a proper school, the grammar school at Old Keith, for three months at the age of seven.

His father was a farm labourer, but Ferguson rose from abject poverty to become the greatest populariser of science of his day, and much of his success derived from the fact that he was able to explain complex matters such as Newton’s laws in language that was clear and easily understood, perhaps a legacy of his own self-education.

Born on April 25, 1710, this precocious child learned to read by listening in on his father’s lessons to his older brother John. When his father found out that James could read, he taught him to write as well. But the family needed money and at the age of just 10, Ferguson was sent to be a shepherd at a nearby farm.

Ferguson later wrote: “In that time I began to study the stars at night. In the daytime I amused myself making models of mills, spinning wheels and such other things as I happened to see.”

At 17, he drew an exquisite map of the stars and by chance local laird Thomas Grant got to see it. Impressed with Ferguson, he insisted the teenager should come and live at his grand house where Ferguson became firm friends with Alexander Cantley the butler, who saw to it that Ferguson got the books and instruments he needed, as well as giving the boy a start in geometry and mathematics.

Ferguson had made his first clock and globe by the age of 21 and, encouraged by local gentry, he began to paint miniature portraits after work at a local mill. He spent time in Edinburgh and Inverness, and in the former he saw an orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system. Soon Ferguson was making his own and taught himself mechanics in order to make new and improved versions.

Having married his wife Isabella – they would have four children but their marriage collapsed – Ferguson moved to London and studied astronomy as well as continuing to paint portraits that brought in money so he could go on studying and researching. He

wrote papers for the Royal Society and began giving lectures, his fame increasing because of his skills as a speaker.

His first published work was “Dissertation on the Phenomena of the Harvest Moon” in 1747 and it was a huge critical success. His self-published seminal work “Astronomy explained upon Sir Isaac Newton’s principles and made easy to those who have not studied mathematics” was a bestseller in the 1750s and made his name. Ferguson knew how to get on in life – he dedicated his book to the Earl of Macclesfield, the then president of the Royal Society, who in turn supported the Scot, who duly became a fellow of the society.

His easy writing style is shown in the book, as in this humorous passage about the planet Mercury: “His light and heat from the Sun are almost seven times as great as ours; and the Sun appears to him almost seven times as large as to us. The great heat on this planet is no argument against its being inhabited; since the Almighty could as easily suit the bodies and constitutions of its inhabitants to the heat of their dwelling, as he has done ours to the temperature of our Earth.

“And it is very probable that the people there have such an opinion of us, as we have of the inhabitants of Jupiter and Saturn; namely, that we must be intolerably cold, and have very little light at so great a distance from the Sun.”

Ferguson always chose simple ways of explaining such complex concepts as planetary gravity: “There is no such thing in nature as a heavy body moving round a light one as its centre of motion. A pebble fastened to a millstone by a string may by an easy impulse be made to circulate round the millstone: but no impulse can make a millstone circulate round a loose pebble, for the heaviest would undoubtedly carry the lightest along with it wherever it goes. The Sun is so immensely bigger and heavier than the Earth, that if he was moved out of his place, not only the Earth, but all the other planets if they were united into one mass, would be carried along with the Sun as the pebble would be with the millstone.”

As with most scientists of the day, Ferguson had to engage with religious faith and belief in God, and ingeniously he found a way to explain the concept of Earth’s inevitable end: “We have a strong philosophical argument against the eternity of the World. For, had it existed from eternity, and been left by the Deity to be governed by the combined actions of the above forces or powers, generally called Laws, it had been at an end long ago. And if it be left to them it must come to an end. But we may be certain that it will last as long as was intended by its Author, who ought no more to be found fault with for framing so perishable a work, than for making man mortal.”

He began travelling around the UK giving lectures, using his instruments such as the orrery. These were so popular that King George III attended one to see what the fuss was about. The king took a liking to Ferguson and arranged for him to have a pension of £50 a year in reward for the work he did to educate people about science.

Never too healthy, Ferguson became ill and lingered on before dying on November 17, 1776, at the age of 66.

Scotland is in lockdown. Shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of The National is at stake. Please consider supporting us through this with a digital subscription from just £2 for 2 months by following this link: www.thenational.scot/subscribe. Thanks – and stay safe.