Between 1849 and 1850, David Brewster, a Scottish scientist, improved the Wheatstone stereoscope by using lenses instead of mirrors, thus reducing the size of the device.
In the same year in which the British Association held its first meeting, Brewster received the honour of knighthood and the decoration of the Royal Guelphic Order.
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The fact that other scientists – notably Étienne-Louis Malus and Augustin Fresnel – were pursuing the same investigations contemporaneously in France does not invalidate Brewster's claim to independent discovery, even though in one or two cases the priority must be assigned to others.
Herapathite's dichroic properties came to the attention of Sir David Brewster, and were later used by Land in 1929 to construct the first type of Polaroid sheet polarizer.
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This was a contribution to the debate of the time on cosmic pluralism, involving also David Brewster, Baden Powell, Thomas Collins Simon, and William Whewell.
In 1812 David Brewster commissioned Bald to write the 'mine' entry for the 'Edinburg Encyclopaedia', a task that involved visiting the colliery at Killingworth where George Stephenson had introduced steam powered machine for raising coal from the pit face.
Although many of the pioneers of photography in Britain and abroad had already produced stereoscopic images, it was here that the full potential of the medium became clear, as the lenticular stereoscopes manufactured in Paris by Dubosq and Soleil under the instructions of Brewster introduced a commercially viable way to promote stereoscopy, applauded by Queen Victoria herself.
Whilst serving his articles he frequently had the delight of meeting Sir Walter Scott, and many of the local characters who appeared in the Waverley Novels, in addition to Sir David Brewster, then living at Gattonside, James Hogg, better known as "The Ettrick Shepherd", and many other of Scott's personal friends.