Scientist, Author. He gained notoriety as a British scientist with his theory of surface tension of liquids. Besides researching surface tension, he research supersaturation and meteorology. With his prolific authorship of at least fifty books and a hundred published papers and articles, he supported the scientific education of professionals as well as the general public for the betterment of his country. He was a member of the British Association for Advancement of Science. In the originally published 1854 to 1856 multi-volume encyclopedia, “Cyclopedia of Useful Arts,” he wrote about contemporary science, technology, mining, engineering and industrial production. The text was not a history book, as there were no articles specifically on people, places, or historical events. No other authors are named and if there were, Tomlinson heavily edited the information before publishing. In 1866, he published “Tomlinson's New Encyclopedia,” which was 4,300 words long. Under the founder of the London Mechanic's Institute, George Birkbeck, he studied before beginning his own school with his brother, Lewis, at Salisbury. He was appointed as lecturer on experimental science at King's College School in London. He joined the Geological Society in 1859 while studying the various odors of clay. In 1872, he was elected to the Royal Society and in 1874 became a founding member of the Physical Society. In 1877 he published “A Translation of Dante Aligheri's Inferno," and held Dante lectures at University College from 1878 to 1880. Born the youngest son of Charles Tomlinson, his father enlisted in the army to provide for his family, and after serving in Holland, he died on the way home leaving his children with little funds for formal education. Tomlinson's obituary in the “Geological Magazine,” 1897 Vol IV described him as a “Natural Philosopher of the old school.”