In the 1860s, a James Croll of Anderson's University in Glasgow sent papers to scientific journals on a variety of topics: hydrostatics, electricity and others. One was published in the Philosophical magazine in 1864 and was recognized as excellent work.
There was surprise when it turns out he was not actually a professor a the university: he was in fact a janitor
Details
He used his access at the university to use the library and teach himself physics, mechanics, hydrostatics and astronomy
His formal education only lasted to when he was 13.