James Prescott Joule

James Prescott Joule was an English physicist, mathematician and brewer, born in Salford, Lancashire. Joule studied the nature of heat, and discovered its relationship to mechanical work. This led to the law of conservation of energy, which in turn led to the development of the first law of thermodynamics. The SI derived unit of energy, the joule, is named after him.

24 December 1818

Born on the same birth day (24 December): Ad Reinhardt • Hamid Karzai • Henriette Roland Holst • Johann Hartmann • Joshua Primo • Lee Daniels • Pernilla Wahlgren • Robert Joffrey • Stefan Jaracz • Steve Smith (comedian)

Born in the same month (December 1818): Carl Remigius Fresenius • Charles III, Prince of Monaco • Mary Todd Lincoln