II -Memoir of fleeming Jenkin

Henry Charles Fleeming Jenkin, born in 1833 in a coastguard building in Kent, England, experienced a mobile and varied childhood under the care of different family members due to his parents’ engagements. His early life was marked by tumults, including the disparaging condition of his distressed grandmother, which left an indelible impression on him, and the compassionate presence of his Aunt Anna Jenkin, who was a beacon of kindness despite her frail health.

Fleeming’s formative years were rich with cultural and academic exposure, moving from mastering sports and participating in traditional Scottish observances to cultivating an early taste for the arts under his mother’s guidance. Fleeming’s educational journey took him from Jedburgh to the prestigious Edinburgh Academy, forging his path as a brilliant student amid influential peers like Tait and Clerk Maxwell. This phase of his life was illustrative of his burgeoning talents and the first signs of an insatiable curiosity that would define his later achievements.

The Jenkin family’s relocation to Frankfort-on-the-Main and subsequently to Paris unraveled a broader canvas for Fleeming’s growing intellect. The political upheavals of Europe in 1848, especially in Paris, acted as catalysts, molding Fleeming’s political sensibilities and infusing in him a profound sense of social justice and political activism. Witnessing revolutions firsthand nurtured in him a deep sympathy for liberal causes, particularly for Italy, which he carried throughout his life. His family’s subsequent flight to Italy during the height of political unrest facilitated an enriching period of learning and growth for Fleeming in Genoa, not only academically as the first Protestant student in the university there but also artistically and culturally.

Under the mentorship of his mother, Mrs. Jenkin, who herself was a vibrant figure with liberal affiliations, Fleeming developed a strong, opinionated character. Despite the family’s perilous experiences during the insurrections in Genoa, these events further solidified his political convictions and his admiration for the Italian struggle for freedom and unity.

Fleeming’s years in Italy were transformative. He vigorously pursued his passions, excelling in physical sciences and the arts, inheriting his mother’s zeal for political and intellectual engagement. His education and experiences in Italy, underscored by his mother’s guidance, laid the groundwork for his later contributions to engineering and his unfettered support for liberal causes.

This segment of Fleeming Jenkin’s life is not just a story of personal growth amid socio-political turbulence but also a testament to the extraordinary influence of his mother, shaping him into a polymathic personality with a lifelong commitment to truth, justice, and innovation.