David Brewster (1781-1868), Scottish physicist. Largely self-taught in physics, Brewster made many contributions to optics, especially relating to polarisation. He discovered the angle at which an incident beam of polarised light is perfectly transmitted through a surface with no reflection, known as Brewster's Angle. Brewster was a prolific writer, contributing to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and was instrumental in the establishment of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.