John Leslie, was born in Kirkton of Largo in 1766 to parents Robert Leslie (a St Andrews born joiner) and Anne Carstairs of Largo. When he was remembered a century after his death, the following account was given of his early years in the Edinburgh Evening News of 12 November 1932:
"Leslie appears to have been weak as a child, so much so that he was unable to continue attendance at Leven school, where he was sent after a beginning with his schooling at a small class conducted by a woman in Largo. An elder brother, tutoring him at home, however, discovered his amazing aptitude for mathematics; so his parents sent John to St Andrews University, where his brilliance carried all before it".
"Leslie appears to have been weak as a child, so much so that he was unable to continue attendance at Leven school, where he was sent after a beginning with his schooling at a small class conducted by a woman in Largo. An elder brother, tutoring him at home, however, discovered his amazing aptitude for mathematics; so his parents sent John to St Andrews University, where his brilliance carried all before it".
He continued his studies at Edinburgh University where he made the acquaintance of Adam Smith, the greatest economist. Then, after a year as tutor in Virginia, a spell of useful work in London, and experience of travel on the continent, in 1805 he was nominated for the Professorship of Mathematics at Edinburgh University in succession to Professor Playfair.
The advert above for one of his published works, in Geometry, dates to soon after his appointment to that role (9 Nov 1809 Perthshire Courier). In September 1819, following the death of John Playfair on 20 July that year, John Leslie became Professor of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh. This appointment was seen as a promotion and was a position that Leslie held until his death. Remembered as both a mathematician and physicist, and especially noted for his studies of heat, the legacy of John Leslie extends through science to the present day. A century after his death, the Dundee Evening Telegraph went as far as to state that without this "forgotten Fifer" it would not be "possible for us to enjoy ice-cream today".
In his later years, Leslie returned to his Largo roots and purchased the mansion of Coates. Coates House (pictured) was built in the 1780s and is situated to the north east of Upper Largo.
It was near the end of his life, on 27 June 1832, that John Leslie was knighted (see notice below from 20 June Morning Post).
It was near the end of his life, on 27 June 1832, that John Leslie was knighted (see notice below from 20 June Morning Post).
The above report in the Calendonian Mercury of 5 Nov 1832 notes the serious ill health of Leslie. He died on 6 November, aged 66, following erysipelas in the leg. The next day's Inverness Courier remarked that...
"The fame of Professor Leslie has extended over all Europe; he was one of the most acute and brilliant of all the men of science who have rendered Great Britain illustrious in modern times, and formed one of that galaxy of great men - the Playfairs, Broughams, Jeffreys and Horners - who have conferred such lustre upon our Scottish metropolis."
Meanwhile, the Morning Advertiser of 13 Nov emphasised that his rise was not due to the "patronage of any powerful individual or party, or to any adventitious circumstances, but solely to his own talents and industry". John Leslie did not marry and had no children. However, his brother Alexander - an architect-builder in Largo - had a son named James who was a civil engineer of note, as was James's son Alexander Leslie (John Leslie's great nephew). More on them at a future date.
"The fame of Professor Leslie has extended over all Europe; he was one of the most acute and brilliant of all the men of science who have rendered Great Britain illustrious in modern times, and formed one of that galaxy of great men - the Playfairs, Broughams, Jeffreys and Horners - who have conferred such lustre upon our Scottish metropolis."
Meanwhile, the Morning Advertiser of 13 Nov emphasised that his rise was not due to the "patronage of any powerful individual or party, or to any adventitious circumstances, but solely to his own talents and industry". John Leslie did not marry and had no children. However, his brother Alexander - an architect-builder in Largo - had a son named James who was a civil engineer of note, as was James's son Alexander Leslie (John Leslie's great nephew). More on them at a future date.
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