Old Photograph Corn Mill Rosneath Scotland

Old photograph of the Corn Mill in Rosneath in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. John Anderson was born on 26 September 1726 at the manse at Rosneath, Dunbartonshire, the son of Margaret Turner and Reverend James Anderson. His father and grandfather were prominent ministers of the church. After his father's death he was raised by his aunt in Stirling, where he attended grammar school. He graduated with an MA from the University of Glasgow in 1745. From 1755 to 1757 he was Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of Glasgow, and from 1757 to 1796 Professor of Natural Philosophy. He is the longest-serving natural philosophy lecturer during the 18th century. In 1760, Anderson was appointed to the more congenial post of professor of natural philosophy at the University of Glasgow. He began to concentrate on physics. He had a love of experiments, practical mechanics and inventions. He encouraged James Watt in his development of steam power. He was acquainted with Benjamin Franklin, and in 1772 he installed the first lightning conductor in Glasgow. John Anderson died in Glasgow on 13 January 1796 at the age of 69. He is buried with his grandfather in Ramshorn Cemetery on Ingram Street in Glasgow. On 13 January 1996 representatives from the University of Glasgow laid a wreath to mark the bicentennial of Anderson's death.

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