PHYSICIST

Benjamin Thompson

1753 - 1814

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Colonel Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, FRS (March 26, 1753 – August 21, 1814) was an American-born British military officer, scientist, inventor and nobleman. Born in Woburn, Massachusetts, he supported the Loyalist cause during the American War of Independence, commanding the King's American Dragoons during the conflict. After the war ended in 1783, Thompson moved to London, where he was recognised for his administrative talents and received a knighthood from George III in 1784. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Benjamin Thompson has received more than 417,092 page views. His biography is available in 39 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 36 in 2019). Benjamin Thompson is the 191st most popular physicist (down from 166th in 2019), the 712th most popular biography from United States (down from 709th in 2019) and the 28th most popular American Physicist.

Benjamin Thompson was most famous for his work in the field of thermodynamics. His most notable contribution to the field was his discovery of the heat equation, also known as the first law of thermodynamics.

Memorability Metrics

  • 420k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 64.60

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 39

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.37

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.67

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHYSICISTS

Among physicists, Benjamin Thompson ranks 191 out of 851Before him are Josiah Willard Gibbs, Klaus von Klitzing, Charles H. Townes, David Bohm, Gustav Ludwig Hertz, and Wolfgang Paul. After him are Robert H. Goddard, Nikolay Basov, Douglas Osheroff, Herbert Kroemer, Edward Mills Purcell, and Steven Weinberg.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1753, Benjamin Thompson ranks 8Before him are Joseph de Maistre, Lazare Carnot, Jean-Baptiste Kléber, Utamaro, Marie Joséphine of Savoy, and Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. After him are Phillis Wheatley, Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès, Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, Duchess of Orléans, Franz Karl Achard, and Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse. Among people deceased in 1814, Benjamin Thompson ranks 6Before him are Empress Joséphine, Marquis de Sade, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, and Maria Carolina of Austria. After him are Marie-Louise O'Murphy, Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Charles-Joseph, 7th Prince of Ligne, Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, Frederick Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, and Louis-Sébastien Mercier.

Others Born in 1753

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Others Deceased in 1814

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Benjamin Thompson ranks 712 out of 20,380Before him are Billie Jean King (1943), John McCarthy (1927), Nat King Cole (1919), Lee Marvin (1924), Kenny Rogers (1938), and John Deere (1804). After him are Jared Diamond (1937), Robert H. Goddard (1882), Haldan Keffer Hartline (1903), Montgomery Clift (1920), Edwin Booth (1833), and Robert Nozick (1938).

Among PHYSICISTS In United States

Among physicists born in United States, Benjamin Thompson ranks 28Before him are Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921), Martin Lewis Perl (1927), James Rainwater (1917), Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839), Charles H. Townes (1915), and David Bohm (1992). After him are Robert H. Goddard (1882), Douglas Osheroff (1945), Edward Mills Purcell (1912), Steven Weinberg (1933), Michio Kaku (1947), and David J. Wineland (1944).