Homepage

Record

Authorised form of nameCampbell; Archibald Campbell (1835 - 1908); 1st Baron Blythswood
Other forms of surnameDouglas
Dates1835 - 1908
NationalityBritish
Place of birthFlorence, Italy
Date of birth22 February 1835
Place of deathBlythswood House, Renfrewshire
Date of death08/07/1908
DatesAndPlacesBurial: Inchinann, near Glasgow (11 July 1908)
ActivityEducation:
Educated privately for an Army career, LL.D Glasgow
Career:
Joined the 79th Highlanders at age 16, transferring to the Scots Guards, before retiring from the Army on the death of his father (1868). ADC to Queen Victoria, (1894); President of the Highland and Agricultural Society (1896-1897); Lord lieutenant and Convenor of Renfrewshire (1904-1908).
Notable amateur scientist, went with his wife to Thebes to observe the Transit of Venus (1874), taking with him a small transit instrument, a 6-inch telescope and a 12-inch telescope, recording the time of first contact, and also observed a white halo, proving an atmosphere around Venus. From 1892-1905 the Blythswood Laboratory was used to experiment into many areas at the borders of physics, including the use of cathode rays, X-rays, spectroscopy and radioactivity. He designed a speed indicator, which was fitted to shiops int he Royal Navy, and carried out studies into the efficiency of aerial propellers some years before the Wright Brothers first powered flight in 1903.
Member of Parliament for Renfrewshire (1873-1874), and for West Renfrewshire (1885-1892). Lord Lietenant for Renfrewshire (1904-1908). REceived an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Glasgow (1888), and made a Freeman of the City.
President, Philosophical Society of Glasgow (1898-1901) and gained it the right to use the prefix 'Royal'
Freemason, member of Lodge St Mary, Coltness, No 31, Wishaw, Lanarkshire
Honours:
Bt 1880; 1st Baron Blythswood of Renfrewshire, 24 August 1892
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election02/05/1907
RelationshipsMarried on 7 July 1864 Hon. Auagusta Clementina Carrington, daughter of the 2nd Baron Carrington, at Whitehall Chapel, London.
SourceSources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB
Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 'Freemasons and the Royal Society: Alphabetical List of Fellows who were Freemasons' 2010, page 15-16
CodeNA2630
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
NLB/12/656Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs Harrison & Sons31 March 1896
NLB/18/717Copy letter from G Carey Foster, to Lord Blythswood27 April 1899
NLB/35/389Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Messrs Harrison & Sons28 May 1907
RR/14/114Referee's report by John Hall Gladstone, on a paper 'The adoption of Rontgen rays by aqueous solutions of metallic salts' by Archibald Campbell, 1st Baron Blythswood and E W Marchant4 April 1899
EC/1907/04Campbell, Archibald Campbell, 1st Baron Blythswood: certificate of election to the Royal Society
Add to My Items
    Papers of Elsie Widdowson and Robert McCance

    Papers of Elsie Widdowson and Robert McCance

    Useful Links

    Collection highlights

    Browse the records of some of our collections, which cover all branches of science and date from the 12th century onwards. These include the published works of Fellows of the Royal Society, personal papers of eminent scientists, letters and manuscripts sent to the Society or presented at meetings, and administrative records documenting the Society's activities since our foundation in 1660.

    Papers of Robert Boyle
    Papers of Robert Boyle
    Campi Phlegraei
    Campi Phlegraei
    Referees’ Reports
    Referees’ Reports
    Papers of Colin Pillinger
    Papers of Colin Pillinger
    Browse Collections

    The Royal Society

    The Royal Society is a Fellowship of many of
    the world's most eminent scientists and is the
    oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.
    Registered charity number 207043

    Website design ©CalmView



    CONTACT US

    + 44 207 451 2500
    (Lines open Mon-Fri, 9:00-17:00. Excludes bank holidays)

    6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG

    Email Us →

    SUBSCRIBE

    Subscribe to our newsletters to be updated with the
    latest news on innovation, events, articles and reports.

    Subscribe →

    © CalmView