James Clerk Maxwell was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism achieved the second great unification in physics, where the first one had been realised by Isaac Newton. Maxwell was also key in the creation of statistical mechanics. June 13, 1831 – November 5, 1879; died at 48. Alive at the same time as Karl Marx, Abraham Lincoln, Leo Tolstoy, Vincent van Gogh, and Frédéric Chopin. Wiki link