Sir David Brewster was a British natural philosopher. He was born at Jedburgh in 1781 and died in 1868. He was educated at Edinburgh University for the church, but was attracted by the lectures of Robison and Playfair to science. In 1807 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the mathematical chair at St Andrews, but became in the same year MA of Cambridge, LLD. of Aberdeen, and member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, to the Transactions of which he contributed important papers on the polarization of light.
In 1808 he became editor of the EdinburghEncyclopaedia, and in 1819, in conjunction with Jameson, founded the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, of which he was sole editor from 1824 until 1832. David Brewster was one of the founders of the British Association, and its president in 1850. In 1832 he was knighted and pensioned, and both before and after this time his services to science obtained throughout Europe the most honourable recognition. From 1838 to 1859 he was principal of the united colleges of St Leonard's and St Salvador at St Andrews, and in the latter year was chosen principal of the University of Edinburgh - an office which he held until his death in 1868.
Among his inventions were the 'polyzonal lens' (introduced into British lighthouses in 1835), the kaleidoscope, and the improved stereoscope. His chief works are a Treatise on the Kaleidoscope published in 1829; Letters on Natural Magic published in 1831; Treatise on Optics (1831); More Worlds Than One (1854) and biographies of Euler, Newton, Galileo, Tycho, Brahe and Kepler. Research David Brewster
Robert Chambers was an English historical and miscellaneous writer. He was born in 1802 at Peebles and died in 1871. The younger of two brothers originally composing the publishing firm of W & R Chambers his father was a muslin weaver. Along with his brother William who was his senior by two years, he received his education at the Peeblesparish school and in the High School of Edinburgh. His family experiencing a reverse of fortune, he got together all the books belonging to his mother and himself, their value being about 2 pounds, and at the age of sixteen commenced business as a bookseller in Edinburgh.
His elder brother William established himself in the neighbourhood as a printer, and they united in projecting and issuing a short-lived periodical called the Kaleidoscope, Robert Chambers being editor and chief contributor, and William Chambers printer. Robert's illustrations of the Author of Waverley and his Traditions of Edinburgh (1823) won a ready popularity, and various other works followed in quick succession from this period until 1832: Popular Rhymes of Scotland (1826); Picture of Scotland (1827); Histories of the Scottish Rebellions; and a Life of James I.
He next edited Scottish Ballads and Songs; a Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen; and on the 4th of February, 1832, the brothers commenced Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, which achieved an immense success. Erom this time W & R Chambers united in the publishing business, and issued a series of works for the entertainment and instruction of the people. Robert Chambers contributed numerous essays to the Journal, besides editing or compiling many instructive works of a high class, including the Cyclopaedia of English Literature; the Domestic Annals of Scotland; Ancient Sea-Margins; and the Book of Days. He also edited a valuable edition of Burns. Research Robert Chambers
The debusscope is an instrument somewhat similar to a kaleidoscope, useful for devising patterns for calico-printers. It was invented in France around 1860. Research Debusscope
IconShop is a librarian program for the Windows operating system that offers the tools to manage ICLicon libraries. The program can read and write ICLicon libraries. The program is easy to use, featuring a drag and drop facility from the Windows Explorer onto the IconShop window to process them.
IconShop can also extract icons from Windows icons, cursors, animated cursors, BMPbitmaps, GIFbitmaps, TIFFbitmaps, XPM bitmaps, resources, executables and libraries.
IconShop can even extract icons from Macintosh iconlibs, resources, executables, IconDropper icon packs and Kaleidoscope schemes, including MacOS 8.5 24-bit icons. IconShop allows the user to export icons to icon, cursor or BMPformat. Research IconShop
A kaleidoscope is an optical instrument which, by an arrangement of mirrors produces a symmetrical reflection of various transparent substances placed between them. It was invented by Sir David Brewster between 1814 and 1817. Research Kaleidoscope
Danielle Steel's Kaleidoscope is a drama starring Jaclyn Smith, Perry King and Patricia Kalember in a story about a private investigator hired by a businessman on his death-bed to reunite three sisters who were separated as children.
Danielle Steel's Kaleidoscope was directed by Jud Taylor in 1990. Research Danielle Steel's Kaleidoscope
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research David Brewster
