170:(they weren't). The professor would include many historical and literary anecdotes as he commented on the danger implicit in his experiments. He would point out where previous experiments had blown a hole in the ceiling and how other professors had been maimed by an ill-considered demonstration. His research included investigating galvanometers and electricity. He was noted for giving electric shocks to his audience and for a demonstration in which he would electrocute a cat. His style of teaching is highlighted today as he was an early example of science educators who were actively involved in research which informed, and inspired, their teaching.
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In the 1840s his lectures did not attract the same audiences, but it must be remembered that they were not compulsory to students if they were not taking medicine. Students at
Cambridge could graduate in mathematics or in classics without taking any "professional" lectures in additional subjects like
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Cumming was appointed to the professorship in 1815, although no records survive of his work prior to that date. Like all professors at that time, he had to compete with rival professors for the attention of his students. Study of his curriculum reveals that he was keeping abreast of the current
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In 1827 Cumming published ‘'A Manual of
Electro-Dynamics,’', 1827 (after Montferrand's ‘Manuel d'Electricité Dynamique,’) ‘Report on Thermo-Electricity’ in ‘Brit. Assoc. Reports,’ 1831–2
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Cumming was said to lecture every day in the 1820s accompanied by three assistants so that he could cover a large amount of material in an hour's lecture. His students included
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147:, the banker. With this substantial income he was able to marry Sarah Humphrey of Cambridge. In the same year Cumming was a founder member of the
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166:. Erasmus Darwin commented on the entertainment value of Cumming's lectures where Cumming compared the results of one of his experiments to
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77:. His father was considered socially more than a mere hotelier, and the hotel's clientele included bishops and visiting aristocracy.
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from 1815 to 1860. Cumming is remembered for his research-led teaching and his lectures during which he would literally
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chemistry. Moreover, students were coming under increasing pressure to improve their performance in the core subjects.
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where his father was the hotelier from 1791. His father rented the hall, which had been a home to
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181:. He had been the Professor in Cambridge until a year before his death on 10 November 1861.
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The 1702 Chair of
Chemistry at Cambridge: Transformation and Change
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322:. Vol. 13. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 276–297.
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61:, London, on 26 September 1777, but his home moved to the
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research in his subject. In 1816 he was admitted to the
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Lindsey, Christopher F. "Cumming, James (1777–1861)".
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261:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
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31:Professor of Chemistry in Cambridge
309:"Cumming, James (1777-1861)"
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22:Professor Cumming in his seventies
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319:Dictionary of National Biography
41:apparatus. He was also known to
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177:Cumming died and was buried in
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65:(now called Old Hall Hotel) in
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532:19th-century British chemists
537:Fellows of the Royal Society
275:UK public library membership
293:A Cambridge Alumni Database
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295:. University of Cambridge.
289:"Cumming, James (CMN796J)"
86:Trinity College, Cambridge
377:Giovanni Francisco Vigani
364:(University of Cambridge)
127:where Cumming was rector.
49:during a demonstration.
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273:(Subscription or
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113:, as well as the
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397:(1756–1764)
395:John Hadley
391:(1718–1756)
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383:John Waller
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137:King's Lynn
96:, in 1802.
82:Marlborough
73:, from the
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277:required.)
193:References
111:Lord Byron
59:Piccadilly
39:galvanic
316:(ed.).
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100:Career
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312:. In
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