Bailie Hugh Blackburn (; 2 July 1823, Craigflower, Torryburn, Fife – 9 October 1909,

Roshven Roshven ( gd, Roisbheinn) is a township located on the eastern shoreline of Loch Ailort, in Lochaber, in the council area of Highland, Scotland. Towering above it is Rois-bheinn, the highest hill in the area. History Historically, the hamlet w ...

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...

) was a Scottish mathematician. A lifelong friend of William Thomson (later

Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, (26 June 182417 December 1907) was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, he did important ...

), and the husband of illustrator

Jemima Blackburn Jemima Wedderburn Blackburn (1 May 1823 – 9 August 1909) was a Scottish painter whose work illustrated rural life in 19th-century Scotland. One of the most popular illustrators in Victorian Britain, she illustrated 27 books. Her greatest orn ...

, he was professor of mathematics at the University of Glasgow from 1849 to 1879. He succeeded Thomson's father

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

in the Chair of Mathematics.

Life

Hugh Blackburn was brought up at Killearn House, Stirlingshire, the seventh of eight children of the wealthy Glasgow merchant John Blackburn and his wife Rebecca Leslie Gillies, the daughter of a

Church of Scotland minister A Church of Scotland congregation is led by its minister and elders. Both of these terms are also used in other Christian denominations: see Minister (Christianity) and Elder (Christianity). This article discusses the specific understanding ...

, and a relative of

Colin Maclaurin Colin Maclaurin (; gd, Cailean MacLabhruinn; February 1698 – 14 June 1746) was a Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. He is also known for being a child prodigy and holding the record for bei ...

. His elder brother was the judge

Colin Blackburn, Baron Blackburn Colin Blackburn, Baron Blackburn, (18 May 1813 – 8 January 1896) was a Scottish judge who is remembered as one of the greatest exponents of the common law. At one point, Blackburn was a judge in the Court of Exchequer Chamber. On 16 October ...

. His father, John, became wealthy off sugar and slavery in Jamaica, becoming a merchant on his return to Glasgow. In the 1830s, when the British government emancipated the slaves, John received compensation for the ownership of over 550 slaves. Hugh was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

and

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

before entering

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. ...

in 1840. There he met Thomson, who entered in the same year; he was also a member of the

Cambridge Apostles The Cambridge Apostles (also known as ''Conversazione Society'') is an intellectual society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who became the first Bishop of Gibraltar.W. C. Lubenow, ''The Ca ...

. During this time he invented the Blackburn pendulum. In the

Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was ...

examinations of 1845 he graduated fifth wrangler, while Thomson graduated second wrangler. He entered the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1847, but was never called to the Bar; his name was withdrawn in 1849, the year in which he became Professor of Mathematics at the University of Glasgow. He married Jemima Wedderburn (cousin of

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and li ...

), the daughter of James Wedderburn, Solicitor-General for Scotland. Newton-5-3

Works

*''A treatise on trigonometry'', London, 1855. Part of the ''

Encyclopedia Metropolitana An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

''. *''A short sketch of the constitutional history of the University of Glasgow and of Glasgow College in that University : with remarks on the Universities (Scotland) Bill'', 1858 *(ed. with William Thomson ) ''Sir

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a " natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

's Principia'', 1871 *''Elements of plane trigonometry for the use of the junior class of mathematics in the University of Glasgow'', 1871

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, Hugh Scottish mathematicians People from Torryburn Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Glasgow Scottish inventors 1823 births 1909 deaths People educated at Edinburgh Academy People educated at Eton College