The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Winthrop, John, 1714–79, American scientist
1714–79, American scientist, b. Boston, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1732. Because of his study of earthquakes, he is sometimes called the founder of seismology. He made scientific observations of sunspots and other astronomical phenomena, lectured on electricity, and was the first important scientist to teach at Harvard. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1766.
