University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
Alfred Cardew Dixon
Sir Alfred Cardew Dixon, 1st Baronet Warford FRS (22 May 1865 – 4 May 1936) was an English mathematician.
Biography
Dixon was born on 22 May 1865 in Northallerton, Yorkshire, England. He studied at the University of London and graduated w ...
. From 1879 to 1885 he studied at
Kingswood School
(''In The Right Way Quickly'')
, established =
, closed =
, type = Independent
, religious_affiliation = Methodist
, president =
, head_label = Headmaste ...
Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
Waynflete Professor of Pure Mathematics Waynflete could refer to:
*William Waynflete (1395–1486), English Lord Chancellor and bishop of Winchester
*Waynflete Professorships at Magdalen College, Oxford, named after William Waynflete
*Waynflete School, a private day school in Portland, M ...
in 1922.
His research was focused on algebra and its application to geometry, elliptic functions and
hyperelliptic function
In algebraic geometry, a hyperelliptic curve is an algebraic curve of genus ''g'' > 1, given by an equation of the form
y^2 + h(x)y = f(x)
where ''f''(''x'') is a polynomial of degree ''n'' = 2''g'' + 1 > 4 or ''n'' = 2''g'' + 2 > 4 with ''n'' dis ...
s. From 1908 onwards he published a series of papers on algebraic eliminants. He also published a dozen joint papers with W.L. Ferrar on analytic number theory.
Dixon was the last mathematical professor at Oxford to hold a life tenure,Fauvel (2000) p.245 and although he was not particularly noted for his mathematical innovations he did publish many papers on analytic number theory and the application of algebra to geometry, elliptic functions and
hyperelliptic function
In algebraic geometry, a hyperelliptic curve is an algebraic curve of genus ''g'' > 1, given by an equation of the form
y^2 + h(x)y = f(x)
where ''f''(''x'') is a polynomial of degree ''n'' = 2''g'' + 1 > 4 or ''n'' = 2''g'' + 2 > 4 with ''n'' dis ...
s.
He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
in 1912 and served as president of the London Mathematical Society from 1924 to 1926.
Dixon died on 20 February 1955.
Personal life
In 1902 Dixon married Catherine Rieder. Catherine found the atmosphere in Oxford difficult for her health, and spent a lot of time in Pau to recover. The couple had one child, a daughter, who later married F.J. Baden Fuller; when Catherine died in 1930, Dixon moved in with his daughter and her husband in
Sandgate, Kent
Sandgate is a village in the Folkestone and Hythe Urban Area in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England. It had a population of 4,225 at the 2001 census.