Rev Henry Parr Hamilton FRS FRSE (3 April 1794 – 7 February 1880) was a Scots-born clergyman and mathematician, who was

Dean of Salisbury The Dean of Salisbury is the head of the chapter of Salisbury Cathedral in the Church of England. The Dean assists the archdeacon of Sarum and bishop of Ramsbury in the diocese of Salisbury. List of deans High Medieval * Walter * Osbert ...

for 30 years.

Life

He was born at Blandfield House, between

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, the son of Alexander Hamilton, Professor of Midwifery at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

. He was educated at

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, graduating BA in 1816 and MA in 1819. He wrote two textbooks on

analytical geometry In classical mathematics, analytic geometry, also known as coordinate geometry or Cartesian geometry, is the study of geometry using a coordinate system. This contrasts with synthetic geometry. Analytic geometry is used in physics and engineer ...

, ''The Principles of Analytical Geometry'' (1826) and ''An Analytical System of Conic Sections'' (1828; 5th edn, 1843). 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 1828 as "a gentleman well versed in mathematics", and was also elected FRS (Edinburgh) in 1822, as well as FRAS and FGS. He became a curate in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

in 1825 and the rector of

Wath Wath may refer to: Places in England * Wath, Cumbria, a U.K. location * Wath (near Ripon), a village in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire * Wath, Ryedale, a village in North Yorkshire * Wath-in-Nidderdale, a village near Pateley Bridge in Har ...

near

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

in 1830, becoming a rural dean in 1847. In 1850 he was appointed

, a position he filled until his death in 1880. He took a great interest in children's education, delivering sermons and writing a book on the subject, ''Practical Remarks on Popular Education'' (1847). He died at the Salisbury deanery in 1880.

Family

He had married Ellen Masson, daughter of Thomas Masson of Copt Hewick, Yorkshire, with whom he had one daughter, Katherine Jane. His brother was James Hamilton FRSE (1767-1839).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Henry Parr 1794 births 1880 deaths People from Midlothian Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Deans of Salisbury Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh