More Scottish Inventors

David Brewster

Sir David Brewster was born in Jedburgh in 1781 and by 10 had made his first
telescope. He initially went to university to become a preacher but a speach
meant he had to pursue a different career.

He had a long and distinguished carrer in optics and it was in this field that his
invention was created. It was the kaleidoscope. He patented it in 1817 and it
went on to sell 200,000 in Paris and London in the first 3 months.

He produced 300 scientific papers and became Principal of both St Andrews
and Edinburgh universities. He died in 1868

 

Charles McIntosh

Charles McIntosh gave his name to the raincoat that he invented. Born in
Glasgow in 1766 he owned a bleaching and dyeing company. He used the by-
product of the bleaching proccess to combine with rubber which became
a sticky mixture. he then painted it to a layer of fabric and used it to bond it
with another layer of fabric to make a woterproof cloth.

He then made this in to coats to keep the rain out. He had problems with
stiching as the holes let in rain but this was overcome with the discovery of
vulcanised rubber in 1839. He died in 1843.

 

John Loudon McAdam

John Loudon McAdam was responsible for inventing the modern Tarmac road
surface in 1815. he made his fortune in America before returning to Ayrshire
in Scotland where he was born and was dismayed at the state of the public
roads. He came up with the idea of laying broken stone chips on top of a well
drained surface and then adding a smooth surface on top. This is the
same basic method used in modern roads. As the system did not require foundations
it quickly became adopted in America and thruoghout Europe. He died in 1836.

 

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