Dionysius Lardner FRS FRSE (3 April 1793 – 29 April 1859) was an Irish scientific writer and science and technology populariser who edited the 133-volume The Cabinet Cyclopædia.
Early life in Dublin
Lardner was born in Dublin on 3 April 1793 as the son of William Lardner and his wife; William was a solicitor in Dublin who wished his son to follow the same calling. After some years of uncongenial desk work, Lardner entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1812. He obtained a B.A. in 1817 and an M.A. in 1819, winning many prizes.
Lardner married Cecilia Flood on 19 December 1815, but they separated in 1820 and were divorced in 1835. About the time of the separation, he began a relationship with a married woman, Anne Maria Darley Boursiquot, the wife of a Dublin wine merchant of Huguenot ancestry. It is believed that he fathered her son, Dion Boucicault, who became an actor and dramatist. Lardner provided him with financial support until 1840. While in Dublin, Lardner began to write and lecture on scientific and mathematical matters, and to contribute articles for publication by the Irish Academy.
Career in London
In 1828, Lardner was elected professor of natural philosophy and astronomy at University College London, a position he held until he resigned his professorship in 1831.
Lardner showed himself to be a successful populariser of science, giving talks on contemporary topics such as Babbage's Difference Engine (1834). He was the author of numerous mathematical and physical treatises on such subjects as algebraic geometry (1823), differential and integral calculus (1825), and the steam engine (1828). He also wrote handbooks on various departments of natural philosophy (1854–1856). However, it is as the editor of The Cabinet Cyclopædia (1830–1844) that he is best remembered.
