John Colson (1680 – 20 January 1760) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

clergyman, mathematician, and the

Lucasian Professor of Mathematics The Lucasian Chair of Mathematics () is a mathematics professorship in the University of Cambridge, England; its holder is known as the Lucasian Professor. The post was founded in 1663 by Henry Lucas, who was Cambridge University's Member of Pa ...

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Life

John Colson was educated at Lichfield School before becoming an undergraduate at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, though he did not take a degree there. He became a schoolmaster at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School in Rochester, and was elected

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 science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1713. He was Vicar of

Chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

, Kent from 1724 to 1740. He relocated to Cambridge and lectured at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. From 1739 to 1760, he was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. He was also Rector of Lockington, Yorkshire.

Works

In 1726 he published his Negativo-Affirmativo Arithmetik advocating a modified decimal system of numeration. It involved "reduction osmall figures" by "throwing all the large figures

9, 8, 7, 6

out of a given number, and introducing in their room the equivalent small figures

1\bar, 1\bar, 1\bar, 1\bar

respectively".John Colson (1726) "A Short Account of Negativo-Affirmativo Arithmetik",

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...

34:161–73. Available as ''Early Journal Content'' fro
JSTOR
/ref> John Colson translated several of

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 works into English, including ''De Methodis Serierum et Fluxionum'' in 1736.

Notes

References

* *
"A Brief History of The Lucasian Professorship of Mathematics at Cambridge University"
– Robert Bruen, Boston College, May 1995

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colson, John 1680 births 1760 deaths 18th-century English mathematicians Academics of the University of Cambridge English Anglicans Lucasian Professors of Mathematics Fellows of the Royal Society

Life

Works

See also

Notes

References

External links