Rumford, Count

Benjamin Thompson was born in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He came from farming stock but, with an eye on higher things, he studied experimental philosophy, chemistry, and medicine as well as French, and became a schoolmaster before the age of 20.

During the American War of Independence Thompson was a loyalist and spy working for the governor of Massachusetts. Later he raised and commanded the ‘King’s American Dragoons’, a regiment known and hated for its atrocities on Long Island. His first ‘British’ career, spent partly in America and partly in England, during which he was knighted, elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and became a full colonel, ended in 1784 when, at the age of 31, he left for Munich and entered the service of the Elector of Bavaria, first as aide-de-camp, then Minister of Police and Grand Chamberlain. The 15 years in Munich were very productive. In addition to his seminal contributions to the theory of heat he also designed the ‘English Garden’, a lasting memorial. He was created a count of the Holy Roman Empire and chose for his title Rumford, the original name of the town of Concord (New Hampshire).