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William Wallace (mathematician)
William Wallace LLD (23 September 176828 April 1843) was a Scottish mathematician and astronomer who invented the eidograph (an improved pantograph). Life Wallace was born at Dysart, Fife, Dysart in Fife, the son of Alexander Wallace, a leather manufacturer, and his wife, Janet Simson. He received his school education in Dysart and Kirkcaldy. In 1784 his family moved to Edinburgh, where he himself was set to learn the trade of a bookbinder. In 1790 he appears as "William Wallace, bookbinder" living and trading at Cowgatehead, at the east end of the Grassmarket. His taste for mathematics had already developed itself, and he made such use of his leisure hours that before the completion of his apprenticeship he had made considerable acquirements in geometry, algebra and astronomy. He was further assisted in his studies by John Robison (physicist), John Robison (1739–1805) and John Playfair, to whom his abilities had become known. After various changes of situation, dictated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Wallace Mathematician
William is a male given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will (given name), Will, Wills (given name), Wills, Willy, Willie, Bill (given name), Bill, and Billy (name), Billy. A common Irish people, Irish form is Liam. Scottish people, Scottish diminutives include Wull, Willie or Wullie (as in Oor Wullie or the play Douglas (play)#Theme and response, ''Douglas''). Female forms are Willa, Willemina, Wilma (given name), Wilma and Wilhelmina (given name), Wilhelmina. Etymology William is related to the given name ''Wilhelm'' (cf. Proto-Germanic ᚹᛁᛚᛃᚨᚺᛖᛚ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Charles Hope
Thomas Charles Hope (21 July 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a British physician, chemist and lecturer. He proved the existence of the element strontium, and gave his name to Hope's Experiment, which shows that water reaches its maximum density at . In 1815 Hope was elected as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1815–19), and as vice-president of Royal Society of Edinburgh (1823–33) during the presidencies of Walter Scott and Thomas Makdougall Brisbane. He founded a chemistry prize at the University of Edinburgh. Charles Darwin was one of Hope's students, and Darwin viewed his chemistry lectures as highlights in his otherwise largely dull education at the University. Early life Born in Edinburgh, the third son of Juliana Stevenson and surgeon and botanist John Hope, he lived at High School Yards on the south side of the old town. He was educated next door to his house at the High School, the University of Edinburgh (MD 1787) and the University of Pari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Galloway
Thomas Galloway FRS (26 February 17961 November 1851) was a 19th-century Scottish mathematician. Life He was born in Symington, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. In 1812 he entered the University of Edinburgh, where he distinguished himself in mathematics. In 1823 he was appointed one of the teachers of mathematics at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and in 1833 he became an actuary of the Amicable Life Assurance Office, the oldest institution of that kind in London, where he remained until his death in 1851. Galloway was a voluminous, though, for the most part, anonymous writer. His most notable paper, "On the proper motion of the solar system", was published in the ''Philosophical Transactions'' of 1847. He contributed largely to the seventh edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, and also wrote several scientific papers for the ''Edinburgh Review'' and various scientific journals. His ''Encyclopaedia'' article, "Probability", was published separately. He is buried in Kensal G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calculus
Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus; the former concerns instantaneous Rate of change (mathematics), rates of change, and the slopes of curves, while the latter concerns accumulation of quantities, and areas under or between curves. These two branches are related to each other by the fundamental theorem of calculus, and they make use of the fundamental notions of convergence (mathematics), convergence of infinite sequences and Series (mathematics), infinite series to a well-defined limit (mathematics), limit. Infinitesimal calculus was developed independently in the late 17th century by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Later work, including (ε, δ)-definition of limit, codify ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Simson
Robert Simson (14 October 1687 – 1 October 1768) was a Scottish mathematician and professor of mathematics at the University of Glasgow. The Simson line is named after him.Robert Simson University of Glasgow (multi-tab page) Life The eldest son of John Simson of Kirktonhall, in , Robert Simson was intended for the Church, but the bent of his mind was towards mathematics. He was educated at the University of Glasgow and graduated M.A. When the prospect opened of his succeeding to the[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simson Line
In geometry, given a triangle and a point on its circumcircle, the three closest points to on lines , , and are collinear. The line through these points is the Simson line of , named for Robert Simson. The concept was first published, however, by William Wallace in 1799. The converse is also true; if the three closest points to on three lines are collinear, and no two of the lines are parallel, then lies on the circumcircle of the triangle formed by the three lines. Or in other words, the Simson line of a triangle and a point is just the pedal triangle of and that has degenerated into a straight line and this condition constrains the locus of to trace the circumcircle of triangle . Equation Placing the triangle in the complex plane, let the triangle with unit circumcircle have vertices whose locations have complex coordinates , , , and let P with complex coordinates be a point on the circumcircle. The Simson line is the set of points satisfyingTodor Zaharinov, "Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Brewster
Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics, mostly concerned with the study of the polarization of light and including the discovery of Brewster's angle. He studied the birefringence of crystals under compression and discovered photoelasticity, thereby creating the field of optical mineralogy.A. D. Morrison-Low (2004) "Brewster, Sir David (1781–1868)" in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' For this work, William Whewell dubbed him the "father of modern experimental optics" and "the Johannes Kepler of optics." A pioneer in photography, Brewster invented an improved stereoscope, which he called "lenticular stereoscope" and which became the first portable 3D-viewing device. He also invented the stereoscopic camera, two types of polarimeters, the polyzonal lens, the li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh Encyclopædia
The ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' is an encyclopaedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830. In competition with the Edinburgh-published ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' is generally considered to be strongest on scientific topics, where many of the articles were written by the editor. The ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' was originally planned to encompassed 12 volumes, but by the time the final volume was published, in 1830, it counted 18 volumes. Some subjects, such as the polarization of light and electromagnetism, had not even been heard of when the project began, and yet the Encyclopedia had articles on them. The electromagnetism article was even contributed by Hans Christian Ørsted, the founder of modern electromagnetic studies. It also included information on contemporary events such as Christopher Hansteen's 1829 expedition to Siberia. In 1815 William Elford Leach published the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various times through the centuries. The encyclopaedia is maintained by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 contributors. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, which spans 32 volumes and 32,640 pages, was the last printed edition. Since 2016, it has been published exclusively as an online encyclopaedia. Printed for 244 years, the ''Britannica'' was the longest running in-print encyclopaedia in the English language. It was first published between 1768 and 1771 in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, as three volumes. The encyclopaedia grew in size: the second edition was 10 volumes, and by its fourth edition (1801–1810) it had expanded to 20 volumes. Its rising stature as a scholarly work helped recruit eminent con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greyfriars Kirkyard
Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at Greyfriars. The Kirkyard is operated by City of Edinburgh Council in liaison with a charitable trust, which is linked to but separate from the church. The Kirkyard and its monuments are protected as a category A listed building. History Greyfriars takes its name from the Franciscan friary on the site (the friars of which wear grey habits), which was dissolved in 1560. The churchyard was founded in August 1562 after Royal sanction was granted to replace the churchyard at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. The latter burial ground was not used after around 1600. The Kirkyard was involved in the history of the Covenanters. The Covenanting movement began with signing of the National Cov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Somerville
Mary Somerville (; , formerly Greig; 26 December 1780 – 29 November 1872) was a Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and in 1835 she and Caroline Herschel were elected as the first female Honorary Members of the Royal Astronomical Society. When John Stuart Mill organized a massive petition to Parliament to give women the right to vote, he made sure that the first signature on the petition would be Somerville's. In 1834 she became the first person to be described in print as a 'scientist'. When she died in 1872, ''The Morning Post'' declared in her obituary that "Whatever difficulty we might experience in the middle of the nineteenth century in choosing a king of science, there could be no question whatever as to the queen of science". Somerville College, a college of the University of Oxford, is named after her, reflecting the virtues of liberalism and academic success which the college wished to embody. She is featured on the fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
