Richard Helsham
Millenium Publication
In January 2000, the Physics Department of Trinity College Dublin republished a classic physics text: Richard Helsham's Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy. It is available from Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol, U.K. ISBN 1 898 706 174.
A man "à son aise at home and abroad" (Swift)
Richard Helsham's Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy was published posthumously by his colleague Bryan Robinson in 1739. It was one of the earliest textbooks to present the great scientific discoveries and methodological innovations of Bacon, Descartes, Boyle and Newton to university students in a simple and straightforward manner. It sang the praises of the experimental method and illustrated its discussion of mechanics, gravity, optics and other areas of what is now called physics with numerous experiments. Students were spared the complicated mathematics of Newton's original works.
The success of the book may be measured by its enduring popularity. Portions were reprinted as late as 1834, and it was listed as a required text for students at Trinity College Dublin up to 1849. As an early and popular Newtonian text, it offers important insights into the development of classical physics and physics education during a period of crucial changes.
Helsham was a physician, the first professor of natural philosophy at Trinity College Dublin, a friend of Jonathan Swift and George Berkeley and a congenial man-about-town. A sketch of his career illuminates the wider context into which Newtonian physics was received.
Last updated: Oct 06 2006. | back to top