Matriculating at the university of Gottingen in 1811, he began by devoting himself to astronomy under Carl Friedrich Gauss; but he enlisted in the Hanseatic Legion for the campaign of 1813 - 14, and became lieutenant of artillery in the Prussian service in 1815.
Matriculating at Trinity College, Oxford, 14th December 1816, he went into residence there in June the following year, and in 1818 he gained a scholarship of X60, tenable for nine years.
Three years after this celebration Lord Kelvin resigned his chair at Glasgow, though by formally matriculating as a student he maintained his connexion with the university, of which in 1904 he was elected chancellor.