Page:Men of the Time, eleventh edition.djvu/1064

 TflORBURN— THORNTON.

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by the Universities of Dublin, Cambridge, and Edinburgh, and that of D.C.L. by Oxford. He is a Fellow of both the London and Edinburgh Royal Societies, from the former of which he received the Royal Medal, and from the latter the Keith Prize. He delivered the Rede Lecture at Cambridge in 1866 ; was President of the British Association at its meeting at Edin- burgh in 1871 ; and was elected President of the Geological Society of Glasgow for the year 1872. On Oct. 29, 1872, he was elected a FeUow of St. Peter's College, Cam- bridge, under the provisions of the College statutes, empowering the Master and Fellows to elect men eminent for science or learning. In Dec. 1877, he was elected by the Paris Academy of Sciences to fill the place of the late Von Baer as Foreign Associate. He was Pre- sident of the Section of Mathe- matical and Physical Science at the meeting of the British Associa- tion, held at York in Sept. 1881, when he delivered a remarkable address on the sources of energy in nature available to man for the production of mechanical effect. Sir William Thomson was apjKjinted one of the British Commissioners for the Electrical Exhibition held at Vienna in Aug. 1883. The first volume of " Mathematical and Physical Papers" by him, "col- lected from different scientific I>eriodicals/' was published at Cam- bridge in 1882.

THORBURN, Robbet, A.R.A., miniature-painter, born at Dum- fries, in 1818, studied the first rudiments of the art at Edinburgh, under Sir W. Allen ; won the chief prize at the Scottish Academy, re- paired to London, and was admitted a student of the Royal Academy in 1836. He first exhibited at the Academy, in 1837, two portraits, and the full number admissible, viz., eight, in 1838. In a few years he began to dispute supremacy, both as to. the art displayed and

patronage received, with the estab- lish^ favourites of the day, Ross and Newton, especially in female portraits. In 1845 ho executed by commission a portrait of the late Prince Consort ; in 1846, one of the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ; in 184-7, portraits of the Princess Charlotte of Belgium and the Duke of Brabant; and in 1848, a group of the Queen, with the Princess Helena and Prince Alfred. He has continued to advance in reputation, and his groups of "The Hon. Mrs. Norton's Family," of "The Marchioness of Waterford and Vis- countess Canning," and of "The Duchess of Buccleuch, Ladies Scott and Balfour," excited especial ad- miration. These groups exceeded the usual dimensions of miniatures, a tendency which has been carried out in most of Mr. Thorbum's portraits. He was rl.^i^ecl A.R.A. in 1848, gained the fii-st goli medal at the Universal Exhibition at Paris in 1855, and v,m3 elected an Hono- rary Member of the Royal Scottish A cademy. W ithin the last few years Mr. Thorbum has practised por- trait painting in oil-colours with great success.

THORNTON, The Right Hon. Sib Edward, G.C.B., is the son of the late Right Hon. Sir Edward Thornton, G.C.B., who was for some time Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Por- tugal, and upon whom the title of Count de Cassilhas, in that^iftgdom, had been conferred by King John VI. of Portugal. Sir Edward Thornton, who succeeded to the title of Count de Cassilhas (in the kingdom of Por- tugal) on the death of his father about 1850, entered the diplomatic service in 18 42, when he was attached to the mission at Turin. He was appointed paid attach^ at Mexico in 18^i5, and Secretary of Legation to the Republic of Mexico in 1851. From April. 1852, till Oct. 1853, he acted as Secretary to the late Sir Charles Hotham's special mission to the River Plate. He was appointed