John Crank (6 February 1916 – 3 October 2006) was a

mathematical physicist Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the developmen ...

, best known for his work on the numerical solution of

partial differential equation In mathematics, a partial differential equation (PDE) is an equation which imposes relations between the various partial derivatives of a Multivariable calculus, multivariable function. The function is often thought of as an "unknown" to be sol ...

s. Crank was born in Hindley in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His father was a carpenter's pattern-maker. Crank studied at

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

from 1934 to 1938, where he was awarded a BSc and MSc as a student of

Lawrence Bragg Sir William Lawrence Bragg, (31 March 1890 – 1 July 1971) was an Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallography, X-ray crystallographer, discoverer (1912) of Bragg's law, Bragg's law of X-ray diffraction, which is basic for t ...

and

Douglas Hartree Douglas Rayner Hartree (27 March 1897 – 12 February 1958) was an English mathematician and physicist most famous for the development of numerical analysis and its application to the Hartree–Fock equations of atomic physics and the c ...

. In 1953, Manchester University awarded him a DSc. He worked on

ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets or the like; the science or art of designing and a ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was then a mathematical physicist at Courtaulds Fundamental Research Laboratory from 1945 to 1957. In 1957, he was appointed as the first Head of Department of Mathematics at Brunel College in Acton. He served two terms of office as vice-principal of Brunel before his retirement in 1981, when he was granted the title of professor emeritus. Crank's main work was on the numerical solution of

s and, in particular, the solution of heat-conduction problems. He is best known for his work with

Phyllis Nicolson Phyllis Nicolson (21 September 1917 – 6 October 1968) was a British mathematician and physicist best known for her work on the Crank–Nicolson method together with John Crank. Early life and education Nicolson was born Phyllis Lockett i ...

on the

heat equation In mathematics and physics, the heat equation is a certain partial differential equation. Solutions of the heat equation are sometimes known as caloric functions. The theory of the heat equation was first developed by Joseph Fourier in 1822 for t ...

, which resulted in the Crank–Nicolson method. He was a keen gardener and established the John Crank Garden as a retirement gift to Brunel University. He was married to his wife, Joan, who died in 2005, for 63 years. They were survived by their two children.

References

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Daily Telegraph obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crank, John 1916 births 2006 deaths Alumni of the University of Manchester Academics of Brunel University London People associated with Brunel University London 20th-century British mathematicians 21st-century British mathematicians People from Hindley, Greater Manchester