PHYSICIST
James Prescott Joule
1818 - 1889
James Prescott Joule
James Prescott Joule (; 24 December 1818 – 11 October 1889) was an English physicist, mathematician and brewer, born in Salford, Lancashire. Joule studied the nature of heat, and discovered its relationship to mechanical work. This led to the law of conservation of energy, which in turn led to the development of the first law of thermodynamics. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of James Prescott Joule has received more than 1,187,480 page views. His biography is available in 116 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 113 in 2019). James Prescott Joule is the 13th most popular physicist (down from 12th in 2019), the 33rd most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 37th in 2019) and the 4th most popular British Physicist.
James Prescott Joule was most famous for his work in thermodynamics. He was the first to calculate the mechanical equivalent of heat, which is the amount of work that can be done by a certain amount of heat.
Memorability Metrics
1.2M
Page Views (PV)
80.53
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
116
Languages Editions (L)
18.78
Effective Languages (L*)
3.30
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among PHYSICISTS
Among physicists, James Prescott Joule ranks 13 out of 851. Before him are Max Planck, Alessandro Volta, Hans Christian Ørsted, Pierre Curie, Ernest Rutherford, and Niels Bohr. After him are Robert Hooke, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Werner Heisenberg, Evangelista Torricelli, Henri Becquerel, and Enrico Fermi.
Most Popular Physicists in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsMax Planck
1858 - 1947
HPI: 82.51
Rank: 7
Alessandro Volta
1745 - 1827
HPI: 81.97
Rank: 8
Hans Christian Ørsted
1777 - 1851
HPI: 81.28
Rank: 9
Pierre Curie
1859 - 1906
HPI: 80.78
Rank: 10
Ernest Rutherford
1871 - 1937
HPI: 80.59
Rank: 11
Niels Bohr
1885 - 1962
HPI: 80.58
Rank: 12
James Prescott Joule
1818 - 1889
HPI: 80.53
Rank: 13
Robert Hooke
1635 - 1703
HPI: 80.46
Rank: 14
J. Robert Oppenheimer
1904 - 1967
HPI: 80.15
Rank: 15
Werner Heisenberg
1901 - 1976
HPI: 79.86
Rank: 16
Evangelista Torricelli
1608 - 1647
HPI: 79.55
Rank: 17
Henri Becquerel
1852 - 1908
HPI: 79.12
Rank: 18
Enrico Fermi
1901 - 1954
HPI: 79.11
Rank: 19
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1818, James Prescott Joule ranks 2. Before him is Karl Marx. After him are Emily Brontë, Alexander II of Russia, Ignaz Semmelweis, Ivan Turgenev, Christian IX of Denmark, Charles Gounod, Jacob Burckhardt, Lewis H. Morgan, Marius Petipa, and Rudolf von Jhering. Among people deceased in 1889, James Prescott Joule ranks 1. After him are Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, Antonio Meucci, Baroness Mary Vetsera, Jefferson Davis, Michel Eugène Chevreul, Alexandre Cabanel, Luís I of Portugal, Mihai Eminescu, Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Father Damien, and Wilkie Collins.
Others Born in 1818
Go to all RankingsKarl Marx
ECONOMIST
1818 - 1883
HPI: 90.07
Rank: 1
James Prescott Joule
PHYSICIST
1818 - 1889
HPI: 80.53
Rank: 2
Emily Brontë
WRITER
1818 - 1848
HPI: 77.35
Rank: 3
Alexander II of Russia
POLITICIAN
1818 - 1881
HPI: 76.34
Rank: 4
Ignaz Semmelweis
PHYSICIAN
1818 - 1865
HPI: 73.98
Rank: 5
Ivan Turgenev
WRITER
1818 - 1883
HPI: 73.70
Rank: 6
Christian IX of Denmark
POLITICIAN
1818 - 1906
HPI: 73.45
Rank: 7
Charles Gounod
COMPOSER
1818 - 1893
HPI: 72.08
Rank: 8
Jacob Burckhardt
HISTORIAN
1818 - 1897
HPI: 68.55
Rank: 9
Lewis H. Morgan
ANTHROPOLOGIST
1818 - 1881
HPI: 67.67
Rank: 10
Marius Petipa
DANCER
1818 - 1910
HPI: 67.53
Rank: 11
Rudolf von Jhering
LAWYER
1818 - 1892
HPI: 65.12
Rank: 12
Others Deceased in 1889
Go to all RankingsJames Prescott Joule
PHYSICIST
1818 - 1889
HPI: 80.53
Rank: 1
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria
NOBLEMAN
1858 - 1889
HPI: 76.27
Rank: 2
Antonio Meucci
INVENTOR
1808 - 1889
HPI: 70.06
Rank: 3
Baroness Mary Vetsera
MUSICIAN
1871 - 1889
HPI: 68.87
Rank: 4
Jefferson Davis
POLITICIAN
1808 - 1889
HPI: 68.54
Rank: 5
Michel Eugène Chevreul
CHEMIST
1786 - 1889
HPI: 65.90
Rank: 6
Alexandre Cabanel
PAINTER
1823 - 1889
HPI: 65.73
Rank: 7
Luís I of Portugal
POLITICIAN
1838 - 1889
HPI: 65.64
Rank: 8
Mihai Eminescu
WRITER
1850 - 1889
HPI: 65.33
Rank: 9
Nikolay Chernyshevsky
WRITER
1828 - 1889
HPI: 65.26
Rank: 10
Father Damien
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1840 - 1889
HPI: 65.19
Rank: 11
Wilkie Collins
WRITER
1824 - 1889
HPI: 62.91
Rank: 12
In United Kingdom
Among people born in United Kingdom, James Prescott Joule ranks 33 out of 8,785. Before him are Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (1947), Charles Dickens (1812), Margaret Thatcher (1925), Anne Boleyn (1501), Alexander Fleming (1881), and James Cook (1728). After him are Alexander Graham Bell (1847), Jane Austen (1775), Robert Hooke (1635), David Hume (1711), Mary I of England (1516), and John Maynard Keynes (1883).
Others born in United Kingdom
Go to all RankingsCamilla, Duchess of Cornwall
NOBLEMAN
1947 - Present
HPI: 81.09
Rank: 27
Charles Dickens
WRITER
1812 - 1870
HPI: 81.06
Rank: 28
Margaret Thatcher
POLITICIAN
1925 - 2013
HPI: 81.05
Rank: 29
Anne Boleyn
COMPANION
1501 - 1536
HPI: 80.96
Rank: 30
Alexander Fleming
BIOLOGIST
1881 - 1955
HPI: 80.93
Rank: 31
James Cook
EXPLORER
1728 - 1779
HPI: 80.76
Rank: 32
James Prescott Joule
PHYSICIST
1818 - 1889
HPI: 80.53
Rank: 33
Alexander Graham Bell
INVENTOR
1847 - 1922
HPI: 80.48
Rank: 34
Jane Austen
WRITER
1775 - 1817
HPI: 80.46
Rank: 35
Robert Hooke
PHYSICIST
1635 - 1703
HPI: 80.46
Rank: 36
David Hume
PHILOSOPHER
1711 - 1776
HPI: 80.25
Rank: 37
Mary I of England
POLITICIAN
1516 - 1558
HPI: 80.18
Rank: 38
John Maynard Keynes
ECONOMIST
1883 - 1946
HPI: 80.12
Rank: 39
Among PHYSICISTS In United Kingdom
Among physicists born in United Kingdom, James Prescott Joule ranks 4. Before him are Isaac Newton (1643), Stephen Hawking (1942), and Michael Faraday (1791). After him are Robert Hooke (1635), James Clerk Maxwell (1831), Paul Dirac (1902), J. J. Thomson (1856), William Gilbert (1544), William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824), Thomas Young (1773), and James Chadwick (1891).
Isaac Newton
1643 - 1726
HPI: 97.67
Rank: 1
Stephen Hawking
1942 - 2018
HPI: 82.87
Rank: 2
Michael Faraday
1791 - 1867
HPI: 82.73
Rank: 3
James Prescott Joule
1818 - 1889
HPI: 80.53
Rank: 4
Robert Hooke
1635 - 1703
HPI: 80.46
Rank: 5
James Clerk Maxwell
1831 - 1879
HPI: 76.55
Rank: 6
Paul Dirac
1902 - 1984
HPI: 74.58
Rank: 7
J. J. Thomson
1856 - 1940
HPI: 73.42
Rank: 8
William Gilbert
1544 - 1603
HPI: 73.20
Rank: 9
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
1824 - 1907
HPI: 72.70
Rank: 10
Thomas Young
1773 - 1829
HPI: 72.13
Rank: 11
James Chadwick
1891 - 1974
HPI: 70.47
Rank: 12