File:David_Brewster_1618.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
David Brewster
Sign in to saveAlso known as Sir David Brewster, Brewster, Brewster D
Scottish astronomer and mathematician (1781–1868)
David Brewster was a Scottish astronomer and mathematician who lived from 1781 to 1868 and made important contributions to the study of light and optics during the scientific revolution of the 19th century. His work helped advance our understanding of how light behaves and interacts with matter, which became foundational to modern physics and optical science.
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Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- David
- Family name
- Brewster
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom
- Place of birth
- Jedburgh
- Place of death
- Melrose
- Occupation
- biographer
- Educated at
- University of Edinburgh
- Employer
- University of St Andrews
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Award
- Royal Medal
- Field of work
- astronomy
- Image
- David-Brewster.jpg
- Work location
- Edinburgh
Show 12 more facts
- Commons category
- David Brewster
- date of birth
- 1781-12-11
- date of death
- 1868-02-10
- Commons gallery
- David Brewster
- place of burial
- Melrose Abbey
- writing language
- English language
- influenced by
- Isaac Newton
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
- maintained by WikiProject
- WikiProject Mathematics
- has works in the collection
- J. Paul Getty Museum
- interested in
- physics
via Wikidata · CC0
Works in European collections
6 objects attributed to David Brewster, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
~20 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Sir David Brewster (11 December 1781 – 10 February 1868) was a Scottish scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics, mostly concerned with the study of the polarization of light and including the discovery of Brewster's angle. He studied the birefringence of crystals under compression and discovered photoelasticity, thereby creating the field of optical mineralogy. For this work, William Whewell dubbed him the "father of modern experimental optics" and "the Johannes Kepler of optics."
Brewster was a pioneer in photography. He invented an improved stereoscope, which he called "lenticular stereoscope" and which became the first portable 3D-viewing device. He also invented the stereoscopic camera, two types of polarimeters, the polyzonal lens, the lighthouse illuminator, and the kaleidoscope.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “David Brewster” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.