You'd think his name would come up more often on these threads.
Kelvin came closer than anyone to finding a LEGITIMATE scientific attack on Darwin's theory. I remember reading that they were contemporaries and that Kelvin's measurements of the Earth's core were showing that the center of the Earth's crust was too hot and that Earth was FAR too young for Darwin's theory to be valid. Kelvin was practicing GOOD science and making a credible case against evolution that was not necessarily influenced by his religious views (though he was a very religious man). In the end, Kelvin's measurements were proven wrong due to the fact that the Earth is continually being heated by radioactive materials, something he could have known nothing about at the time.
An actual scientific argument. I dream of such a thing sometimes....
Problem was, he wasn't a YEC. His earth was too young for Darwin and too old for Genesis.
I agree with your appraisal, though. He was truly a first rate scientist.