engineering

Thomas Larcom

Thomas Larcom is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Thomas Larcom rather than just read about it. In short: Major-General Sir Thomas Aiskew Larcom, Bart (22 April 1801 – 15 June 1879) was a leading official in the early Irish Ordnance Survey. He later became a poor law commissioner, census commissioner and finally executive head of the British administration in Ireland as under-secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, a position the government of the day was eager for him to take.

Key takeaways

Thomas Larcom belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Thomas Larcom to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Thomas Larcom from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Major-General Sir Thomas Aiskew Larcom, Bart (22 April 1801 – 15 June 1879) was a leading official in the early Irish Ordnance Survey. He later became a poor law commissioner, census commissioner and finally executive head of the British administration in Ireland as under-secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, a position the government of the day was eager for him to take. Born in Gosport, Hampshire, Larcom received his education at the Royal Military Academy and was commissioned in the Royal Engineers in 1820. He began his career with the Ordnance Survey of England in 1824 before being transferred to Ireland. With the rank of lieutenant he led the day-to-day operations of Survey headquarters by 1828 under Lt-Colonel Thomas Colby and established a meteorological observatory in Dublin. At the completion of the Survey's six-inch maps in 1846, Larcom joined the Irish Board of Works. In this role he was involved in the establishment of the Queen's University of Ireland. The longest-serving under-secretary (1853–1868), Larcom had a distinguished career in his adopted country and acted with an impartiality that won him respect from all parties. In 1868 he was admitted to the Irish Privy Council and created a baronet.

Arms

Bibliography Thomas Colby (1837), Ordnance Survey of the County of Londonderry (Dublin) J.A. Lawson, "Manuscript life of Sir Thomas Larcom" (undated) Montagu Burrows (1892), "Larcom, Thomas Aiskew", Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, vol. 32 "A century of Irish Government", Edinburgh Review, no. 336 (1879) "Obituary memoir of Sir T. A. Larcom", Proceedings of the Royal Society, no. 198 (1879) Petty, William (1851). Larcom, Thomas Aiskew (ed.). The History of the Survey of Ireland commonly called The Down Survey by Doctor William Petty A.D. 1655–6 . Dublin: Irish Archaeological Society – via Wikisource.

Footnotes

References

Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. Leigh Rayment's list of baronets

External links The Larcom Collection, at the Library of Trinity College Dublin

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thomas Larcom

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thomas Larcom claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Thomas Larcom before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Thomas Larcom ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Thomas Larcom

In research: Thomas Larcom appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Thomas Larcom in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Thomas Larcom is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1801 births, 1879 deaths, Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thomas Larcom outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Thomas Larcom in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Thomas Larcom means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Thomas Larcom out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thomas Larcom in simple terms?

Why does Thomas Larcom matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Thomas Larcom?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Thomas Larcom.