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{{short description|British engineer, later settled in Ireland}}
{{Other people}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Thomas Drummond | image = Thomas_Drummond.jpg
| name = Thomas Drummond | image = Thomas_Drummond.jpg
| image_size = 240px
| image_size =
| caption = c. 1838 by [[Henry William Pickersgill]]
| caption = c. 1838 by [[Henry William Pickersgill]]
| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 10 October 1797
| birth_date = 10 October 1797
| birth_place = [[Edinburgh]]
| birth_place = [[Edinburgh]], Scotland
| death_date = {{death-date and age|15 April 1840|10 October 1797}}
| death_date = {{death-date and age|15 April 1840|10 October 1797}}
| death_place =
| death_place =
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| resting_place = [[Ireland]]
| resting_place = [[Ireland]]
| resting_place_coordinates = Mount Jerome Dublin
| resting_place_coordinates = Mount Jerome Dublin
| residence =
| nationality = [[Scotland|Scottish]]
| other_names =
| other_names =
| known_for = Cartography <br> Drummond lamp
| known_for = Cartography <br> Drummond lamp
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| parents =
| parents =
| relatives =
| relatives =
| religion =
| signature = Drummond Thomas signature.jpg
| signature = Drummond Thomas signature.jpg
| website =
| website =
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}}
}}


Captain '''Thomas Drummond''' (10 October 1797 – 15 April 1840), from [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]], was an army officer, [[civil engineer]] and senior public official. Drummond used the [[Drummond light]] which was employed in the trigonometrical survey of [[Great Britain]] and [[Ordnance Survey Ireland|Ireland]]. He is sometimes mistakenly given credit for the invention of [[limelight]], at the expense of Sir [[Goldsworthy Gurney]].<ref name=leeds>{{cite web| url=http://www1.chem.leeds.ac.uk/delights/texts/Demonstration_19.htm| title=Demonstrations 19 – Limelight| publisher=Leeds University| accessdate=2011-03-21}}</ref> However, it was Drummond who realised their value in surveying.
Captain '''Thomas Drummond''' (10 October 1797 – 15 April 1840), from [[Edinburgh]] was a Scottish [[British Army]] officer, [[civil engineer]] and senior public official. He used the [[Drummond light]] which was employed in the trigonometrical survey of [[Great Britain]] and [[Ordnance Survey Ireland|Ireland]]. He is sometimes mistakenly given credit for the invention of [[limelight]], at the expense of Sir [[Goldsworthy Gurney]].<ref name=leeds>{{cite web| url=http://www1.chem.leeds.ac.uk/delights/texts/Demonstration_19.htm| title=Demonstrations 19 – Limelight| publisher=Leeds University| access-date=2011-03-21| archive-date=6 June 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070606200355/http://www1.chem.leeds.ac.uk/delights/texts/Demonstration_19.htm| url-status=dead}}</ref> It was Drummond, however, who realised its value in surveying.


== Early life ==
== Early life ==
Drummond was the second of three sons.<ref name=elec>{{cite web| url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/drummond_thomas.htm| title=Significant Scots – Thomas Drummond| accessdate=2008-07-18}}</ref> Despite his father dying when he was young, he credited his mother with getting him through his education at Edinburgh High School and then on to be a [[Royal Engineers|Royal Engineer]] cadet at [[Woolwich Academy]] in 1813. He showed an early gift for mathematics. After Woolwich he was stationed in Edinburgh and was involved with public works. He was bored with this and had enrolled at [[Lincolns Inn]] when he was recruited to use his trigonometry to help conduct a survey in the Highlands.<ref name=elec/>
Drummond was the second of three sons.<ref name=elec>{{cite web| url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/drummond_thomas.htm| title=Significant Scots – Thomas Drummond| access-date=2008-07-18}}</ref> Despite his father dying when he was young, he credited his mother with getting him through his education at Edinburgh High School and then on to be a [[Royal Engineers|Royal Engineer]] cadet at [[Woolwich Academy]] in 1813. He showed an early gift for mathematics. After Woolwich he was stationed in Edinburgh and was involved with public works. He was bored with this and had enrolled at [[Lincoln's Inn]] when he was recruited to use his trigonometry to help conduct a survey in the Highlands.<ref name=elec/>


This new work was done in the summer with the more difficult months being passed in [[London]]. Drummond took this opportunity to improve his knowledge of mathematics and science. He attended lectures by Sir [[Michael Faraday]]. At these he learned of the discovery of [[limelight]].
This new work was done in the summer with the more difficult months being passed in [[London]]. Drummond took this opportunity to improve his knowledge of mathematics and science. He attended lectures by Sir [[Michael Faraday]]. At these he learned of the discovery of [[limelight]].


== Ordnance Survey of Ireland ==
== Ordnance Survey of Ireland ==
In 1824 Drummond was transferred to the new Ordnance Survey of Ireland and here he used the new [[Drummond light]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://shop.osi.ie/Shop/Products/Default.aspx#historic| title=Historic mapping – archive origins| publisher=[[Ordnance Survey of Ireland]]| accessdate=2011-03-21}}</ref> He reported that the light could be observed 68 miles away and would cast a strong shadow at a distance of thirteen miles.<ref name=leeds/> Drummond left Ireland for a period prior to the [[Reform Bill]] of 1832. For his services to the Whigs, acting as secretary to [[George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer|Lord Spencer]], [[Lord Brougham]] had him awarded a pension 300 pounds per annum.<ref name=elec/>
In 1824 Drummond was transferred to the new Ordnance Survey of Ireland and here he used the new [[Drummond light]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://shop.osi.ie/Shop/Products/Default.aspx#historic| title=Historic mapping – archive origins| publisher=[[Ordnance Survey of Ireland]]| access-date=2011-03-21| archive-date=12 March 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312130215/http://shop.osi.ie/Shop/Products/Default.aspx#historic| url-status=dead}}</ref> He reported that the light could be observed 68 miles away and would cast a strong shadow at a distance of thirteen miles.<ref name=leeds/> Drummond left Ireland for a period prior to the [[Reform Bill]] of 1832. For his services to the Whigs, acting as secretary to [[George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer|Lord Spencer]], [[Lord Brougham]] had him awarded a pension 300 pounds per annum.<ref name=elec/>


In 1835 Drummond, now back with the Irish Survey, married the wealthy heiress [[Maria Kinnaird]], who was the adopted daughter of the critic [[Conversation Sharp]] (1759–1835). They had three children, Emily, Mary and Fanny.<ref>{{cite book| title=Maria Drummond – A Sketch| author=Kegan Paul| publisher=Kegan Paul| year=1891}}</ref>
In 1835 Drummond, now back with the Irish Survey, married the wealthy heiress [[Maria Kinnaird]], who was the adopted daughter of the critic [[Conversation Sharp]] (1759–1835). They had three children, Emily, Mary and Fanny.<ref>{{cite book| title=Maria Drummond – A Sketch| author=Kegan Paul| publisher=Kegan Paul| year=1891}}</ref>


== Appointment as Irish under-secretary ==
== Appointment as Irish under-secretary ==
He was then appointed to the significant post of [[Under Secretary for Ireland|Irish under-secretary]], heading up the administration in [[Dublin Castle]], a position he held from 1835 until his death in 1840. A supporter of the [[British Whig Party|Whigs]], Drummond was held in high regard by Irish, whom he treated with impartiality.<ref name=nut>1907 edition of [[The Nuttall Encyclopædia]]</ref>
He was then appointed to the significant post of [[Under Secretary for Ireland|Irish under-secretary]], heading up the administration in [[Dublin Castle]], a position he held from 1835 until his death in 1840. A supporter of the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]], Drummond was held in high regard by Irish, whom he treated with impartiality.<ref name=nut>1907 edition of [[The Nuttall Encyclopædia]]</ref>


Drummond died in 1840 and was buried in [[Mount Jerome Cemetery]], Dublin. It was concluded by his family physician, Dr. Johnson, who spent his last days with Drummond, that he was afflicted with [[peritonitis]], which was symptomatic of an undetermined medical cause.<ref>{{cite book| title=Thomas Drummond, under-secretary in Ireland, 1835-40 : life and letters| last=O'Brien| first=R. Barry| publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench & Company| location=London| year=1889| page=386| url=https://archive.org/stream/thomasdrummondun00obriuoft#page/387| accessdate=2011-03-21}}</ref> It is believed by some that overwork and stress precipitated his premature death in 1840 after working unceasingly for five years as Irish under-secretary.
Drummond died in 1840 and was buried in [[Mount Jerome Cemetery]], Dublin. It was concluded by his family physician, Dr. Johnson, who spent his last days with Drummond, that he was afflicted with [[peritonitis]], which was symptomatic of an undetermined medical cause.<ref>{{cite book| title=Thomas Drummond, under-secretary in Ireland, 1835-40 : life and letters| last=O'Brien| first=R. Barry| publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench & Company| location=London| year=1889| page=386| url=https://archive.org/stream/thomasdrummondun00obriuoft#page/387| access-date=2011-03-21}}</ref> It is believed by some that overwork and stress precipitated his premature death in 1840 after working unceasingly for five years as Irish under-secretary.


His dying words were reported as:
His dying words were reported as:
{{Quote|"I wish to be buried in Ireland, the country of my adoption a country which I loved, which I have faithfully served, and for which I believe I have sacrificed my life."<ref>{{cite book| title=Thomas Drummond, under-secretary in Ireland, 1835-40 : life and letters| last=O'Brien| first=R. Barry| publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench & Company| location=London| year=1889| pages=387–388| url=https://archive.org/stream/thomasdrummondun00obriuoft#page/387| accessdate=2011-03-21}}</ref>}}
{{Blockquote|"I wish to be buried in Ireland, the country of my adoption a country which I loved, which I have faithfully served, and for which I believe I have sacrificed my life."<ref>{{cite book| title=Thomas Drummond, under-secretary in Ireland, 1835-40 : life and letters| last=O'Brien| first=R. Barry| publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench & Company| location=London| year=1889| pages=387–388| url=https://archive.org/stream/thomasdrummondun00obriuoft#page/387| access-date=2011-03-21}}</ref>}}


Drummond was critical of the system of large estates ("[[landlordism]]") in Ireland and famously stated, "Property has its duties as well as its rights."{{sfn|Bew|2007|p=149}}
Drummond was critical of the system of large estates ("[[landlordism]]") in Ireland and famously stated, "Property has its duties as well as its rights."{{sfn|Bew|2007|p=149}}
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== References ==
== References ==
* {{Nuttall}}
* {{Nuttall}}
*{{cite book |last1=Bew |first1=Paul |authorlink1=Paul Bew |title=Ireland: The Politics of Enmity 1789-2006 |date=2007 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=9780198205555 |language=en}}


== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
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* {{cite journal| last=Larcom| first=T. A.| title=Memoir of the professional life of the late Captain Drummond| journal=Papers on Subjects Connected with the Duties of the Corps of Royal Engineers| volume=4| publisher=Woolwich| year=1840}}
* {{cite journal| last=Larcom| first=T. A.| title=Memoir of the professional life of the late Captain Drummond| journal=Papers on Subjects Connected with the Duties of the Corps of Royal Engineers| volume=4| publisher=Woolwich| year=1840}}
* {{cite book| title=Thomas Drummond, under-secretary in Ireland, 1835-40 : life and letters| last=O'Brien| first=R. Barry| publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench & Company| location=London| year=1889| url=https://archive.org/details/thomasdrummondun00obriuoft}}
* {{cite book| title=Thomas Drummond, under-secretary in Ireland, 1835-40 : life and letters| last=O'Brien| first=R. Barry| publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench & Company| location=London| year=1889| url=https://archive.org/details/thomasdrummondun00obriuoft}}
* {{cite book| last=McLennan| first=J. F.| authorlink=John Ferguson McLennan | title=Memoir of Thomas Drummond| location=Edinburgh| year=1867}}
* {{cite book| last=Ó Tuathaigh| first=G.| title=Thomas Drummond and the government of Ireland 1835–41| location=Galway| year=1979}}
* {{cite book| last=Ó Tuathaigh| first=G.| title=Thomas Drummond and the government of Ireland 1835–41| location=Galway| year=1979}}
* {{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/?id=OTwBAAAAQAAJ| title=Memoir of Thomas Drummond| last1=McLennan| first1=John Ferguson| last2=Drummond| first2=Thomas| year=1867}}
* {{cite book| url=https://archive.org/details/memoirthomasdru00mclegoog| title=Memoir of Thomas Drummond| publisher=Edmonston and Douglas| last1=McLennan| first1=John Ferguson| last2=Drummond| first2=Thomas| year=1867| location=Edinburgh}}


{{s-start}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box |
{{succession box |
before = [[William Gossett|Sir William Gossett]] |
before = [[William Gosset (politician)|Sir William Gossett]] |
title = [[Under-Secretary for Ireland]] |
title = [[Under-Secretary for Ireland]] |
years = 1835–1840 |
years = 1835–1840 |
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[[Category:Royal Engineers officers]]
[[Category:Royal Engineers officers]]
[[Category:Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium]]
[[Category:Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium]]
[[Category:People from Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Engineers from Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Scottish surveyors]]
[[Category:Scottish surveyors]]
[[Category:Under-Secretaries for Ireland]]
[[Category:Under-Secretaries for Ireland]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge]]

Latest revision as of 18:48, 21 August 2024

For other people named Thomas Drummond, see Thomas Drummond (disambiguation).

Thomas Drummond
c. 1838 by Henry William Pickersgill
Born10 October 1797
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died15 April 1840 (1840-04-16) (aged 42)
Resting placeIreland
Mount Jerome Dublin
OccupationCivil engineer
Known forCartography
Drummond lamp
SpouseMaria Kinnaird
Childrenthree daughters
Signature

Captain Thomas Drummond (10 October 1797 – 15 April 1840), from Edinburgh was a Scottish British Army officer, civil engineer and senior public official. He used the Drummond light which was employed in the trigonometrical survey of Great Britain and Ireland. He is sometimes mistakenly given credit for the invention of limelight, at the expense of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney.[1] It was Drummond, however, who realised its value in surveying.

Early life

[edit]

Drummond was the second of three sons.[2] Despite his father dying when he was young, he credited his mother with getting him through his education at Edinburgh High School and then on to be a Royal Engineer cadet at Woolwich Academy in 1813. He showed an early gift for mathematics. After Woolwich he was stationed in Edinburgh and was involved with public works. He was bored with this and had enrolled at Lincoln's Inn when he was recruited to use his trigonometry to help conduct a survey in the Highlands.[2]

This new work was done in the summer with the more difficult months being passed in London. Drummond took this opportunity to improve his knowledge of mathematics and science. He attended lectures by Sir Michael Faraday. At these he learned of the discovery of limelight.

Ordnance Survey of Ireland

[edit]

In 1824 Drummond was transferred to the new Ordnance Survey of Ireland and here he used the new Drummond light.[3] He reported that the light could be observed 68 miles away and would cast a strong shadow at a distance of thirteen miles.[1] Drummond left Ireland for a period prior to the Reform Bill of 1832. For his services to the Whigs, acting as secretary to Lord Spencer, Lord Brougham had him awarded a pension 300 pounds per annum.[2]

In 1835 Drummond, now back with the Irish Survey, married the wealthy heiress Maria Kinnaird, who was the adopted daughter of the critic Conversation Sharp (1759–1835). They had three children, Emily, Mary and Fanny.[4]

Appointment as Irish under-secretary

[edit]

He was then appointed to the significant post of Irish under-secretary, heading up the administration in Dublin Castle, a position he held from 1835 until his death in 1840. A supporter of the Whigs, Drummond was held in high regard by Irish, whom he treated with impartiality.[5]

Drummond died in 1840 and was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin. It was concluded by his family physician, Dr. Johnson, who spent his last days with Drummond, that he was afflicted with peritonitis, which was symptomatic of an undetermined medical cause.[6] It is believed by some that overwork and stress precipitated his premature death in 1840 after working unceasingly for five years as Irish under-secretary.

His dying words were reported as:

"I wish to be buried in Ireland, the country of my adoption a country which I loved, which I have faithfully served, and for which I believe I have sacrificed my life."[7]

Drummond was critical of the system of large estates ("landlordism") in Ireland and famously stated, "Property has its duties as well as its rights."[8]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Demonstrations 19 – Limelight". Leeds University. Archived from the original on 6 June 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Significant Scots – Thomas Drummond". Retrieved 18 July 2008.
  3. ^ "Historic mapping – archive origins". Ordnance Survey of Ireland. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  4. ^ Kegan Paul (1891). Maria Drummond – A Sketch. Kegan Paul.
  5. ^ 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia
  6. ^ O'Brien, R. Barry (1889). Thomas Drummond, under-secretary in Ireland, 1835-40 : life and letters. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Company. p. 386. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  7. ^ O'Brien, R. Barry (1889). Thomas Drummond, under-secretary in Ireland, 1835-40 : life and letters. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Company. pp. 387–388. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  8. ^ Bew 2007, p. 149.

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to Thomas Drummond.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Drummond, Thomas".
  • Larcom, T. A. (1840). "Memoir of the professional life of the late Captain Drummond". Papers on Subjects Connected with the Duties of the Corps of Royal Engineers. 4. Woolwich.
  • O'Brien, R. Barry (1889). Thomas Drummond, under-secretary in Ireland, 1835-40 : life and letters. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Company.
  • Ó Tuathaigh, G. (1979). Thomas Drummond and the government of Ireland 1835–41. Galway.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • McLennan, John Ferguson; Drummond, Thomas (1867). Memoir of Thomas Drummond. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas.
Government offices
Preceded by Under-Secretary for Ireland
1835–1840 		Succeeded by
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