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The McPherson Collection

 
The McPherson Collection comprises a large number of physical instruments and apparatus dating from the mid-19th century to about 1920. The collection is housed in Room 111 of the Physics Building, and in two showcases in the entrance hall. Anna McPherson, after whom the collection is named, was a member of the McGill Physics Faculty from 1940 until her death in 1979. The apparatus was originally used for teaching and demonstration in the Department of Physics and covers various aspects of mechanics, electricity and magnetism, heat, light, and sound. In addition there is a copy of Newton's Opticks, dated 1704, and a collection of framed portraits of scientists and philosophers of historical importance.
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Anna Isobel McPherson had an association with McGill that extended over a period of sixty years. She obtained her B.A. degree with First Class Honors in Mathematics and Physics from McGill in 1921 winning the Anne Molson Gold Medal, still today one of the most prestigious awards for undergraduate students at McGill. She then went on to obtain her M.Sc. from McGill under Prof. Arthur Eve in 1923. After teaching mathematics for a time in a local high school, she went to the University of Chicago to do research in Prof. A.J. Dempster's Laboratory and received her Ph.D. in 1933. While in Chicago she took every course that the great Nobel Laureates, Albert Michelson and Arthur Compton, offered, and her own teaching in later years has benefited from this unique experience.


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The McPherson Collection is comprised of antique physical instruments and apparatus dating from the mid-19th century to about 1920, many of them used in teaching and scientific research at McGill. What is striking for the visitors is the beauty of many of these instruments and the craftsmanship with which they have been made. A good example of this is our collection of instruments build by the famous physicist and instrument maker Rudolph Koenig for the study of sound.


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The McPherson Collection comprises a large number of physical instruments and apparatus dating from the mid-19th century to about 1920. The collection is housed in Room 111 of the Physics Building, and in two showcases in the entrance hall. Anna McPherson, after whom the collection is named, was a member of the McGill Physics Faculty from 1940 until her death in 1979.
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