Peter Mark Roget

@Academics, Birthday and Facts ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Peter Mark Roget was an English physician and philologist who is most celebrated for 'Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases'. British University Of Edinburgh Intellectuals & Academics Inventors & Discoverers Physicians Capricorn Celebrities Peter Mark Roget was an English physician, philologist and inventor who is most celebrated for 'Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases', a classified collection of related words, first published in 1852. Born to a Swiss clergyman in England, Roget attended the Edinburgh University and graduated in medicine. As a young physician, he published works on tuberculosis and on the effects of nitrous oxide, then used as an anesthetic. After initially practicing in Bristol and Manchester, he moved to London and continued to lecture on medical topics. Later, Roget invented a slide rule to calculate the roots and powers of numbers which formed the basis of slide rules that served as the common currency in schools and universities until the invention of the calculator. He also had a keen interest in optics and wrote a paper suggesting the methods to improve the kaleidoscope. Along with that, he also wrote papers on a wide range of topics such as, natural theology, phenology and contributed to several encyclopedias of the time. After taking effective retirement from medicine, he spent the rest of his life on the project for which he is most remembered today, 'Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases', a dictionary of synonyms. A fellow of the Royal Society, he served as its Secretary for more than 20 years, and his remarkable Thesaurus has never been out of print since its first publication

Personal Details

Birthday: January 18, 1779 Died on: September 12, 1869 Nationality: British Famous: Academics, Intellectuals, Lexicographer, University Of Edinburgh, Intellectuals & Academics, Inventors & Discoverers, Physicians Spouses: Mary Taylor Known as: Peter Mark Roget, Roget, Peter Roget Universities: University Of Edinburgh University of Edinburgh Information Detail Birthday January 18, 1779 Died on September 12, 1869 Nationality British Famous Academics, Intellectuals, Lexicographer, University Of Edinburgh, Intellectuals & Academics, Inventors & Discoverers, Physicians Spouses Mary Taylor Known as Peter Mark Roget, Roget, Peter Roget Universities University Of Edinburgh University of Edinburgh Notable Alumnis University Of Edinburgh Birth Place Soho Gender Male Sun Sign Capricorn Born in Soho Famous as Lexicographer Died at Age 90

Soho

Peter Mark Roget born at Unsplash Birth Place

Roget was married to Mary Taylor and had two children, one son, John, and a daughter named Catherine. His wife died in 1833 and he never remarried. Unsplash Personal Life

Peter Mark Roget died on September 12, 1869, in West Malvern, Worcestershire, England, at the age of 90. He is buried there in the cemetery of St James's Church. Unsplash Personal Life

Peter Mark Roget was born on January 18, 1779, in Soho, London, England, to Jean Roget, a Swiss clergyman, and his wife, Catherine Romilly. He had a younger sister. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

The death of his father when Peter was a child had a deep impact on him. He struggled with depression for most of his life. By the age of eight, his fascination with list-making as a coping mechanism was well established. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

After completing school, Roget went to the University of Edinburgh where he studied medicine, graduating in 1798. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

From 1808 to 1840, he practiced as an able physician in London, and also became an inventor, natural theologian and a lexicographer in his illustrious career. Unsplash Career

In 1814, he invented a ‘log-log’ slide rule for calculating the roots and powers of numbers. It helped to perform exponential and root calculations and was particularly useful for calculations involving fractional powers and roots. Unsplash Career

Later, he developed an interest in optics and in December 1824, Roget presented a paper entitled ‘Explanation of an optical deception in the appearance of the spokes of a wheel when seen through vertical apertures’. Unsplash Career

In 1834, he became the first Fullerian Professor of Physiology at the Royal Institution. Later, he played a key role in the establishment of the University of London in 1836, where he worked as an examiner in physiology. Unsplash Career

He also published numerous papers on physiology and health, such as the fifth ‘Bridgewater Treatise’, ‘Animal and Vegetable Physiology considered with reference to Natural Theology’ (1834), and articles for several editions of ‘Encyclopædia Britannica’. Unsplash Career

Peter Mark Roget is most remembered for his ‘Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases’ (1852), a comprehensive classification of synonyms or verbal equivalents that is still popular in modern editions. Unsplash Major Works

His significant accomplishments include the invention of a ‘log-log’ slide rule in 1814, used to calculate number roots and squares. The rule was the standard method for calculation until the invention of calculator. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	January 18, 1779
Died on	September 12, 1869
Nationality	British
Famous	Academics, Intellectuals, Lexicographer, University Of Edinburgh, Intellectuals & Academics, Inventors & Discoverers, Physicians
Spouses	Mary Taylor
Known as	Peter Mark Roget, Roget, Peter Roget
Universities	University Of Edinburgh University of Edinburgh
Notable Alumnis	University Of Edinburgh
Birth Place	Soho
Gender	Male
Sun Sign	Capricorn
Born in	Soho
Famous as	Lexicographer
Died at Age	90

Peter Mark Roget

British

Jan 18, 1779

Biography

Personal Details

Soho