John turnbull thomson biography

Though unconfirmed, he may have named the town of Middlemarch after the Middle March region of his native Northumberland, although another theory suggests the surveyor's wife was reading the George Eliot novel of the same name. Sometimes he gave places a form of the Northumbrian name for an animal, as with names such as Kyeburn, Gimmerburn, Hoggetburn, and Wedderburn.

John turnbull thomson biography: John Turnbull Thomson is said

The area where those places are found has been referred to as "Thomson's Barnyard". Through his knowledge of Hindustani and Malay, he became interested in comparative linguistics and developed a theory of racial diffusion based on philological evidence. He was also a keen amateur painter of landscapes, working mostly in oils. From a topographical viewpoint his paintings are of great interest today.

He died at his home in Invercargill on 16 October Thomson was responsible for the planning of the city of Invercargill in Southland, New Zealand and his mausoleum is in the St. John's Cemetery in Waikiwi, Invercargill. BathansBerwickshire. He was responsible for the design and construction of a number of notable engineering works including bridges, roads, and hospitals.

He conducted the allotment survey of Singapore, the topographical survey of the island of Singapore and its dependencies, and the marine survey of the Straits of Singapore and the east coasts of Johore and Penang. His outstanding achievement was the erection of the Horsburgh Lighthouse on Pedra Branca. In his health failed and he returned to England, where he studied modern engineering techniques and travelled widely through Britain and the Continent inspecting engineering works.

From until he was Surveyor-General of New Zealand. He was also the original surveyor of the city of Invercargill. Several extant places, roads and buildings in Singapore are named after J. These include:. From until Thomson surveyed and explored large sections of the interior of the South Islandcovering most of the southern half of the island.

John turnbull thomson biography: John Turnbull Thomson (10

Many names in the area indicate Thomson's Northumbrian background, though there is a widespread belief that the naming of many places was through a disagreement with the New Zealand surveying authorities. Though unconfirmed, he may have named the town of Middlemarch after the Middle March region of his native Northumberland, although another theory suggests the surveyor's wife was reading the George Eliot novel of the same name.

Sometimes he gave places a form of the Northumbrian name for an animal, as with names such as Kyeburn, Gimmerburn, Hoggetburn, and Wedderburn. The area where those places are found has been referred to as " Thomson's Barnyard ". Thomson was a founder of the Otago and Southland Institutes of New Zealand, to which he contributed numerous papers on scientific subjects including ethnological studies.

Through his knowledge of Hindustani and Malayhe became interested in comparative linguistics and developed a theory of racial diffusion based on philological evidence. He was also a keen amateur painter of landscapesworking mostly in oils. After the abolition of the provinces, Thomson was appointed Surveyor-general for the Colony. In his opinion triangulation was an absolute necessity, and he entirely discarded compass bearings in favour of true bearings.

In he lectured before the Royal Society of Arts at Edinburgh. In he resigned the surveyor-generalship and went to live in Invercargill. There he became a member of the borough council, and was for a while mayor of Gladstone.

John turnbull thomson biography: John Turnbull Thomson was a

In he contested the Mataura seat in Parliament and in Awarua. It was he who persuaded the local authority to adopt Sir John Coode's plan to deepen the New River by means of a training wall. Thomson's chief intellectual pursuits were ethnology and astronomy.