John Stokes (1720 – 2 November 1781) was a

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

-born academic who served (1762–1764) as the first

Erasmus Smith's Professor of Mathematics The Erasmus Smith's Professor of Mathematics at Trinity College Dublin is one of two endowed mathematics positions at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the other being the Donegall Lectureship at Trinity College Dublin. It was founded in 1762 and fun ...

at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). He was son of engineer Gabriel Stokes (1682–1768), who in 1746 became Deputy Surveyor General of Ireland–and Elizabeth King (1689–1751). John's brother Gabriel (1731–1806) was also a mathematician at TCD.Alumni Dublinenses : a register of the students, graduates, professors and provosts of Trinity College in the University of Dublin (1593–1860) Burtchaell,G.D/Sadlier,T.U p807: Dublin, Alex Thom and Co, 1935 John Stokes received BA (1740) and MA (1743) from TCD, became a Fellow there in 1746, then got BD 1752 and DD 1755. During 1760–1762 he was Donegall Lecturer of Mathematics, and after his term as Erasmus Smith's Professor of Mathematics, he was appointed Regius Professor of Greek in 1764, but retired from TCD the following year. In 1777, he became Rector of Rahy and Clondahorky, Donegal.Our Portrait Gallery: Second Series, No. 7, p. 148

The Dublin University Magazine The ''Dublin University Magazine'' was an independent literary cultural and political magazine published in Dublin from 1833 to 1882. It started out as a magazine of political commentary but increasingly became devoted to literature. The magazine ...

, Volume 84 John was a member of the prominent Anglo-Irish Stokes family, whose notable members include

Sir George Stokes, 1st baronet Sir George Gabriel Stokes, 1st Baronet, (; 13 August 1819 – 1 February 1903) was an Irish English physicist and mathematician. Born in County Sligo, Ireland, Stokes spent all of his career at the University of Cambridge, where he was the Luc ...

(Great Grandson),

Whitley Stokes (physician) Whitley Stokes (1763–1845) was an eminent Irish physician and polymath. A one-time United Irishman, in 1798 he was sanctioned by Trinity College Dublin for his alleged republicanism. In 1821, he published a rebuttal of Robert Malthus's thesi ...

(Nephew),

William Stokes (physician) William Stokes (1 October 1804 – 10 January 1878) was an Irish physician, who was Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Dublin. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical School with an MD in 1825 later returning the pr ...

(Grand Nephew), Sir William Stokes (Great Grand Nephew),

Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar) Whitley Stokes, CSI, CIE, FBA (28 February 1830 – 13 April 1909) was an Irish lawyer and Celtic scholar. Background He was a son of William Stokes (1804–1878), and a grandson of Whitley Stokes the physician and anti- Malthusian (1763� ...

(Great Grand Nephew),

Margaret Stokes Margaret McNair Stokes (March 1832 – 20 September 1900) was an Irish Illustrator, antiquarian and writer. Life Born in Dublin, she was the daughter of Dr William Stokes and his wife Mary (née Black). One brother, Whitley Stokes, was a lead ...

(Great Grand Niece), Sir Henry Edward Stokes (Great Grand Nephew), Sir Gabriel Stokes (Great Great Grand Nephew), and

Charles Stokes (trader) Charles Henry Stokes (Dublin, 1852 – near the Lindi River (Congo), 1895) was an Irish missionary turned trader who lived much of his life in Africa and was the centre of the Stokes Affair between the United Kingdom and Congo Free State. Life Ch ...

(Great Great Grand Nephew).

References

1720 births 1781 deaths Donegall Lecturers of Mathematics at Trinity College Dublin Irish mathematicians 18th-century Irish mathematicians {{europe-mathematician-stub