The Last Man Who Knew Everything

No one has given the polymath Thomas Young (1773–1829) the all-round examination he so richly deserves—until now. Celebrated biographer Andrew Robinson portrays a man who solved mystery after mystery in the face of ridicule and rejection, and never sought fame. As a physicist, Young challenged th...

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Автор: Robinson, Andrew
Формат: Online
Мова:Англійська
Опубліковано: Open Book Publishers 2023
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Онлайн доступ:https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/63195
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author Robinson, Andrew
author_browse Robinson, Andrew
author_facet Robinson, Andrew
author_sort Robinson, Andrew
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description No one has given the polymath Thomas Young (1773–1829) the all-round examination he so richly deserves—until now. Celebrated biographer Andrew Robinson portrays a man who solved mystery after mystery in the face of ridicule and rejection, and never sought fame. As a physicist, Young challenged the theories of Isaac Newton and proved that light is a wave. As a physician, he showed how the eye focuses and proposed the three-colour theory of vision, only confirmed a century and a half later. As an Egyptologist, he made crucial contributions to deciphering the Rosetta Stone. It is hard to grasp how much Young knew. This biography is the fascinating story of a driven yet modest hero who cared less about what others thought of him than for the joys of an unbridled pursuit of knowledge—with a new foreword by Martin Rees and a new postscript discussing polymathy in the two centuries since the time of Young. It returns this neglected genius to his proper position in the pantheon of great scientific thinkers.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1004662025-07-17T10:00:45Z The Last Man Who Knew Everything Robinson, Andrew Rees, Martin Thomas Young;physicist;physician;decipher;Egyptologist;Rosetta Stone;biography thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DND Diaries, letters and journals thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general::DNBT Biography: science, technology and medicine thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DND Diaries, letters and journals thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general::DNBT Biography: science, technology and medicine thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt No one has given the polymath Thomas Young (1773–1829) the all-round examination he so richly deserves—until now. Celebrated biographer Andrew Robinson portrays a man who solved mystery after mystery in the face of ridicule and rejection, and never sought fame. As a physicist, Young challenged the theories of Isaac Newton and proved that light is a wave. As a physician, he showed how the eye focuses and proposed the three-colour theory of vision, only confirmed a century and a half later. As an Egyptologist, he made crucial contributions to deciphering the Rosetta Stone. It is hard to grasp how much Young knew. This biography is the fascinating story of a driven yet modest hero who cared less about what others thought of him than for the joys of an unbridled pursuit of knowledge—with a new foreword by Martin Rees and a new postscript discussing polymathy in the two centuries since the time of Young. It returns this neglected genius to his proper position in the pantheon of great scientific thinkers. 2023-06-06T06:39:28Z 2023-06-06T06:39:28Z 2023-06-05T08:29:25Z 2023 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/63195 9781805110187 9781805110194 9781805110217 9781805110224 9781805110231 9781805110248 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/100466 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/63195/1/9781805110200.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/63195/1/9781805110200.pdf Open Book Publishers 10.11647/OBP.0344 10.11647/OBP.0344 b014b543-78bd-4c3b-bc71-b68e2ac855b9 9781805110187 9781805110194 9781805110217 9781805110224 9781805110231 9781805110248 ScholarLed 296 Cambridge open access
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thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DND Diaries, letters and journals
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thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DND Diaries, letters and journals
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Robinson, Andrew
The Last Man Who Knew Everything
title The Last Man Who Knew Everything
title_full The Last Man Who Knew Everything
title_fullStr The Last Man Who Knew Everything
title_full_unstemmed The Last Man Who Knew Everything
title_short The Last Man Who Knew Everything
title_sort last man who knew everything
topic Thomas Young;physicist;physician;decipher;Egyptologist;Rosetta Stone;biography
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DND Diaries, letters and journals
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general::DNBT Biography: science, technology and medicine
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DND Diaries, letters and journals
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general::DNBT Biography: science, technology and medicine
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt
topic_facet Thomas Young;physicist;physician;decipher;Egyptologist;Rosetta Stone;biography
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DND Diaries, letters and journals
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general::DNBT Biography: science, technology and medicine
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DND Diaries, letters and journals
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose::DNB Biography: general::DNBT Biography: science, technology and medicine
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt
url https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/63195
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