The Last Man Who Knew Everything

The Last Man Who Knew Everything (2006), written by Andrew Robinson, is a biography of the British polymath Thomas Young (1773–1829).[1]

The Last Man Who Knew Everything
Portrait of Thomas Young by Henry Briggs, used for the book cover
AuthorAndrew Robinson
CountryUnited Kingdom, United States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectThomas Young (1773–1829)
GenreBiography, history of science
PublisherOneworld Publications (UK),
Pi Press (USA)
Publication date
October 2006
Media typePrint (hardcover, paperback)
Pagesx+288
ISBN978-1851684946

This biography is subtitled Thomas Young, the Anonymous Polymath Who Proved Newton Wrong, Explained How We See, Cured the Sick, and Deciphered the Rosetta Stone, Among Other Feats of Genius, which gives a very brief idea of Young's polymathic career. It is divided into an introduction followed by 16 chapters describing Young's life and work in approximate chronological order. Particular emphasis is given to Young's achievements in physics (e.g., Young's interference experiment), mathematics, physiology, medicine (e.g., Young's rule), linguistics, and Egyptology.

The book was published in hardback by Pi Press in the United States and by Oneworld Publications in the United Kingdom. It subsequently appeared in paperback editions. It has been featured on the BBC.[2]

The book has been reviewed in a number of publications, including The Guardian,[3] The Independent,[4] The Lancet,[5] Publishers Weekly,[6] The Spectator,[7] and The Telegraph.[8][9] P. D. Smith, writing for The Guardian, praised Robinson for taking on the challenge of researching such a polymath's life and calls the book "an excellent introduction to one of the most versatile minds of the 19th century".[3]

In 2023, the 250th anniversary of Thoman Young's birth, a new edition with a foreword by the scientist Martin Rees and a new postscript entitled “Polymathy Then — and Now?” was published by Open Book Publishers.[10]

References
  1. Robinson, Andrew (17 November 2005). "A polymath's dilemma". Nature. 438 (7066): 291. Bibcode:2005Natur.438..291R. doi:10.1038/438291a. PMID 16292291.
  2. "Monkman and Seagull's Polymathic Adventure". BBC Radio 4. UK: BBC. 21 August 2017.
  3. Smith, P. D. (20 January 2007). "Books: Reluctant polymath". The Guardian.
  4. Hagestadt, Emma; Tonkin, Boyd (11 October 2007). "Paperbacks: Liquidation – House of Meetings – The Last Man Who Knew Everything – Black Sea – Hurting Distance – The Book of Ebenezer Le Page – Liquidation". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
  5. Weatherall, David (10 February 2007). "Thomas Young: a medical polymath". The Lancet. 369 (9560): 455–456. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60216-5. S2CID 53254812.
  6. "The Last Man Who Knew Everything". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  7. Wilson, Ben (28 September 2006). "A fox with a bit of hedgehog". The Spectator.
  8. Shakespeare, Nicholas (24 September 2006). "The 'heavy sausage' denied his slice of fame". The Telegraph. UK.
  9. Singh, Simon (26 November 2006). "The achievements of a real know-all". The Telegraph. UK.
  10. Robinson, Andrew (2023). "The Last Man Who Knew Everything". Biography. Open Book Publishers. doi:10.11647/obp.0344. ISBN 978-1-80511-018-7.
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