Editing Lord Kelvin (section)

== Later life and death ==
[[File:The Thomson family grave and memorial, Glasgow Necropolis.jpg|thumb|upright|The grave of the Thomson family, [[Glasgow Necropolis]]]]
In the winter of 1860–61, Kelvin (aged 37) slipped on the ice while [[curling]] near his home at Netherhall and fractured his leg, causing him to miss the 1861 Manchester meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and to limp thereafter.<ref name=":0" /> He remained something of a celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic until his death.

Thomson remained a devout believer in Christianity throughout his life; attendance at chapel was part of his daily routine.<ref>McCartney & Whitaker (2002), reproduced on [http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/15/12/6 Institute of Physics website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713101250/http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/15/12/6 |date=13 July 2007 }}</ref> He saw his Christian faith as supporting and informing his scientific work, as is evident from his address to the annual meeting of the [[Christian Evidence Society]]<ref>Thomson, W. (1889) [[s:William Thomson's account of his Christian faith|Address to the Christian Evidence Society]]</ref> on 23 May 1889.<ref>The Finality of this Globe, Hampshire Telegraph, 15 June 1889, p. 11.</ref>

In the [[1902 Coronation Honours]] list published on 26 June 1902 (the original day of the [[coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra]]),<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Coronation Honours |date=26 June 1902 |page=5 |issue=36804}}</ref> Kelvin was appointed a [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Councillor]] and one of the first members of the new [[Order of Merit]] (OM). He received the order from the King on 8 August 1902<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Court Circular |date=9 August 1902 |page=6 |issue=36842}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27470|page=5679|date=2 September 1902|}}</ref> and was sworn a member of the council at [[Buckingham Palace]] on 11 August 1902.<ref name="LG27464">{{London Gazette |issue=27464 |date=12 August 1902 |page=5173 }}</ref> In his later years he often travelled to his town house at 15 Eaton Place, off [[Eaton Square]] in London's [[Belgravia]].<ref name=":0" />

In November 1907, he caught a chill and his condition deteriorated until he died at his Scottish country seat, Netherhall, in Largs on 17 December.<ref>"Death of Lord Kelvin". ''Times''</ref> At the request of [[Westminster Abbey]], the undertakers Wylie & Lochhead prepared an oak coffin lined with lead. In the dark of the winter evening the cortege set off from Netherhall for [[Largs railway station]], a distance of about a mile. Large crowds witnessed the passing of the cortege, and shopkeepers closed their premises and dimmed their lights. The coffin was placed in a special [[Midland Railway|Midland]] and [[Glasgow and South Western Railway]] van. The train set off at 8:30 pm for [[Kilmarnock]], where the van was attached to the overnight express to [[St Pancras railway station]] in London.<ref name="The Scotsman, 23 December 1907">The Scotsman, 23 December 1907</ref>

Kelvin's funeral was on 23 December 1907.<ref name=":0" /> The Abbey was crowded, including representatives from the [[University of Glasgow]] and the [[University of Cambridge]], along with representatives from France, Italy, Germany, [[Austria-Hungary]], Russia, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and [[Monaco]]. Kelvin's grave is in the [[nave]], near the [[choir screen]], and close to the graves of [[Isaac Newton]], [[John Herschel]], and [[Charles Darwin]].<ref>Hall, Alfred Rupert (1966) ''The Abbey Scientists''. London: Roger & Robert Nicholson. p. 62.</ref> Darwin's son, Sir [[George Darwin]], was one of the pall-bearers.<ref>Glasgow Herald, 24 December 1907</ref>

The University of Glasgow held a memorial service for Kelvin in the Bute Hall. Kelvin had been a member of the [[Scottish Episcopal Church]], attached to St Columba's Episcopal Church in Largs, and when in Glasgow to St Mary's Episcopal Church (now, [[St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow]]).<ref name="The Scotsman, 23 December 1907" /> At the same time as the funeral in Westminster Abbey, a service was held in St Columba's Episcopal Church, Largs, attended by a large congregation including burgh dignitaries.<ref>Glasgow Evening Times, 23 December 1907</ref>

Lord Kelvin is memorialised on the Thomson family grave in [[Glasgow Necropolis]]. The family grave has a second modern memorial, erected by the [[Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow]], a society of which he was president in the periods 1856–58 and 1874–77.<ref>{{cite book | author=Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow | title=No Mean Society: 200 years of the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow. 2nd Ed | year=2008 | page=138 | publisher=Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow | url=http://royalphil.org/Sessions/No%20Mean%20Society.pdf | isbn=978-0-9544965-0-0 | access-date=2 April 2018 | archive-date=24 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124180449/https://royalphil.org/Sessions/No%20Mean%20Society.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>