24 Nov/59.1
My dear Tyndall
You have probably judged wisely2 but I am sorry for our University. Do not think it necessary to come here to thank any body. We only did our duty in trying to secure the Man we thought best for the interests of the University. But if you ever wish to come here for pleasure, I have a large house & ample accommodation & welcome for my friends—It will give me the greatest pleasure to see you. Mrs Playfair desires me on her part to press on you this invitation.
Poor George Wilson3 died yesterday. He had a soul fit for a better world & his poor diseased body was quite unfitted for this one. With diseased lungs, liver & spleen he has only been kept alive for many years by his genial happy & graceful mind.
His Professorship, as things go, is a good one, the Endowment being £400, independent of fees. It is the only Chair of Technology in the Kingdom & was founded at my recommendation when in office, so that I am anxious to see it worthily filled4
Yours Sincerely | Lyon Playfair
RI MS JT/1/P/121
RI MS JT/TYP/3/991
Tyndall noted in his journal for Friday 25 November 1859, ‘Heard of George Wilson’s death—Playfair has written me a kindly pleasant note’. (Journal, RI MS JT/2/13c/1164).
You have probably judged wisely: refers to Tyndall’s decision not to become a candidate for the newly vacant Chair of Physics at the University of Edinburgh (see letters 1593, 1595, 1598, 1599, 1601, 1602, 1604, and 1607).
George Wilson: the chemist George Wilson passed away on 22 November 1859 after a long period of illness. Wilson was one of several Edinburgh figures who supported the idea (referenced in letters 1648 and 1651) of Tyndall becoming a candidate for the vacant Chair at Edinburgh. See also letters 1645, 1646, 1652, 1654, 1655, 1656, 1657, 1658, and 1659.
His Professorship … I am anxious to see it worthily filled: The Regius Chair of Engineering was abolished after Wilson’s death. The botanist Thomas Croxen Archer (1817–85) succeeded Wilson as director of the Industrial Museum.
Please cite as “Tyndall1660,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on