Introduction

James Clerk Maxwell was born into this world on June 13, 1831 at the cusp of one of the first information ages. The 1830s were filled with scientific speculation of all kinds fueled by the steady stream of newspaper print and telegraph data that was coming in on a regular basis. As Maxwell got older, he became obsessed with producing a perfect theory on electromagnetism. In this effort, he would be the very first to conclude that magnetism and electricity are two interrelated forces. Maxwell would eventually go on to declare that all electric and magnetic components are at their most basic level waves that are racing from one direction to another at the speed of light.

At his heart, Maxwell was a man of ideas, and his ideas had some pretty impressive consequences. It was due in part to one of his breakthroughs, for example, that scientists would later uncover the significance of radio waves which are a result of electromagnetic activity. This of course then led to the use of radio communication and broadcast. His work also paved the way for the use of radar to track planes high in the sky, as well as cell towers to beam signals to the phones we carry in our pockets. Thanks to his curiosity, a whole new world was discovered.

From the outset, James Clerk Maxwell was a wellspring of inexhaustible ideas. He never stopped asking questions, and he also found some rather extraordinary answers. As any exploration of his life will demonstrate, Maxwell was indeed just as powerful of a man in theory as he was in practice.