Arguably one of the WorldGeniuses, James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was a Scottish physicist/mathematician. He is perhaps best remembered for his work in electromagnetism, especially Maxwell's Equations that explain, govern or model the propagation of EM radiation, but he also made substantial contributions to the kinetic theory of gases. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1854 with a degree in mathematics, and held professorships at Marischal College in Aberdeen (1856) and King's College in London (1860). He was also the first Cavendish Professor of Physics at Cambridge from 1871.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Clerk_Maxwell