The romantic imagery of knighthood has its origins in Medieval times. Manuscripts were lavishly illuminated with the regalia of knighthood - sword, shield, helmet and crown. Knights and Lords were given their own coat of arms. The emphasis was very much on chivalry. In Victorian Britain there was a revival of the Medieval concepts of knighthood and the Crown established Orders of Chivalry for achievement or service to the country and empire. At Windsor Castle on 10th November 1866 Professor William Thomson was knighted by Queen Victoria as a reward for his participation in laying the Atlantic telegraph cable and service to science. He was awarded a coat of arms with the motto "Honesty is the best policy".

In 1892, Sir William Thomson was raised to the peerage and given the title Lord Kelvin, Baron of Largs. The name "Kelvin" was taken from the River Kelvin that winds its way through Kelvingrove Park close to the university buildings. In William Thomson's own words "We have proposed Kelvin as the title for the sake of association with the University and city of Glasgow". Baron of Largs was derived from the historical and picturesque town of Largs on the west coast of Scotland were Lord Kelvin had his country residence, Netherhall. As a tribute to Lord Kelvin the name Kelvin was given to the unit of temperature (K) of the absolute temperature scale which he proposed in 1848.

Further honours from the Crown included the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 1896 and the Order of Merit, 1902. Lord Kelvin was awarded an impressive array of distinctions from many countries and institutions. These included the Legion of Honour (France), Knight of the Prussian Order Pour le Mérite, Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) and Order of the First Class of the Sacred Treasure of Japan. This international recognition certainly was a measure of the quality of his work as a scientist, entrepreneur and Professor of Natural Philosophy in the towering Victorian institution that was the University of Glasgow. As a mark of his fifty year tenure of the chair of Natural Philosophy, Glasgow University celebrated the Jubilee of Lord Kelvin on 15th-17th June 1896. A lavish banquet took place in the city's St. Andrew's Halls and Lord Kelvin's inventions were displayed in the University's fine Bute Hall. Dignitaries from throughout the world were taken on a excursion of the Firth of Clyde on board the steamer Glen Sannox.

Winged thunderbolt seen at Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin. This symbol is central to the Kelvin coat of arms. Ancient Roman mythology often depicted the god Jupiter hurling such thunderbolts. The electric discharges took the form of "Jupiter's thunderbolts".