George Alexander Gibson
FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
LLD (19 April 1858–1 April 1930) was a Scottish mathematician and academic writer.
Life
He was born on 19 April 1858 in
Greenlaw in
Berwickshire the third son of Robert Gibson JP (1830–1903). He attended the free church school in the parish, and showing great promise, went to the
University of Glasgow where he graduated with an MA in 1882 and immediately joined the University staff.
In 1889, aged 29, he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
. His proposers were
William Thomson, Lord Kelvin,
Prof William Jack,
Sir Thomas Muir and
George Chrystal. He served as the Society's Vice President from 1917 to 1920. He also served as president of the
Edinburgh Mathematical Society. In 1895 he became a Professor of Mathematics at the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College. In 1909 he returned to the University of Glasgow as a Professor, replacing his mentor Prof William Jack.
Gibson lived on campus at 10 The University, Glasgow. The
University of Edinburgh awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1905 and the University of Glasgow did likewise in 1927, the year of his retiral.
Death
He died at
Scotstounhill
Scotstounhill is a small area situated in western Glasgow, between south Knightswood and Scotstoun. Housing is mainly in a terraced or villa style, although several high rise flats (also known as tower blocks) can be found in the area (originall ...
in Glasgow on 1 April 1930.
On his death the Gibson Memorial Lecture was founded. The first lecturer in this series was
Albert Einstein. Other lecturers include
Charles Coulson and
Edward Collingwood
Sir Edward Foyle Collingwood LLD (17 January 1900 – 25 October 1970) was an English mathematician and scientist. He was a member of the Eglingham branch of a prominent Northumbrian family, the son of Col. Cuthbert Collingwood of the Lancashir ...
.
Family
In 1890, he married Nellie Stenhouse Hunter, daughter of James D. Hunter, while still a student.
They had three children.
Publications
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, George Alexander
1858 births
1930 deaths
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Academics of the University of Glasgow
Scottish mathematicians
Scottish non-fiction writers
People from the Scottish Borders