Thomas Thomson (1773-1852), Scottish chemist. Thomson was born at Crieff, Perthshire and was educated at the University of St. Andrews and at Edinburgh from where he graduated in medicine. However, he was persuaded to take up chemistry by Joseph Black. He worked as a teacher and wrote many articles for the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In 1817 he moved to Glasgow and did research into the new atomic theories. He was the first to use symbols in writing about chemistry, and made his students undertake practical experimental work - something unheard of in Britain. He worked as a consultant to the Excise Board and invented the Allan's saccharometer to measure the sugar content in distillery must. The mineral thomsonite is named in his honour.