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Rh Lord Kelvin was hearty and genial, and generally wore a winning smile; and he was the most modest of great men.

Lord Kelvin was the greatest teacher of physics of his day, but his lectures were never simple; in fact, his "popular addresses" were more suitable for wranglers than anybody else. His subjects were so simple to him that he frequently overlooked the fact that he took his audience clean out of their depth. He was essentially a teacher of teachers.

In 1896 Lord Kelvin celebrated the jubilee of his professorship at the Glasgow University, and on this occasion men of science from all parts of the world did honour to the great physicist; and he was presented with the Arago gold medal by the Académie des Sciences. Numerous addresses were presented to him from the various universities, academies, and societies of the world,