Richard Sears McCulloch

See also: Richard McCulloch

Richard Sears McCulloch (1818 – 1894) was an American civil engineer and professor of mechanics and thermodynamics at the Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia.

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In 1876, a collection of his lecture notes were published in a book entitled Treatise on the Mechanical Theory of Heat and its Application to the Steam Engine, Etc. In the opening paragraph, McCulloch states “the mechanical theory of heat, sometimes called thermo-dynamics, is that branch of science which treats of the phenomena of heat as effects of motion and position.”

In 1878, McCulloch received an honorary doctorate of law degree from Washington and Lee University.

McCulloch’s book was influential in the development of the science of thermodynamics. A reprint edition can be found in the Michigan Historical Reprint Series link; as well as at the Niels Bohr Library.

See also

• Entropy and life
• History of thermodynamics