Morris Birkbeck Pell (31 March 1827 – 7 May 1879) was an American-Australian

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, professor, lawyer and

actuary An actuary is a business professional who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. The name of the corresponding field is actuarial science. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require asset man ...

. He became the inaugural Professor of Mathematics and

Natural Philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 1852, and continued in the role until ill health enforced his retirement in 1877. He was for many years a member of the University Senate, and councillor and secretary of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

Early life

Pell's mother Eliza Birkbeck (1797-1880) was a daughter of

Morris Birkbeck Morris Birkbeck (January 23, 1764 – June 4, 1825) was an English agricultural innovator, author/publicist, anti-slavery campaigner and early 19th-century pioneer in southern Illinois, in the United States. With George Flower he founded the Engl ...

(1764-1825), the English agricultural innovator, social reformer and antislavery campaigner. In 1817-18 Birkbeck, with

George Flower George Albert "Buck" Flower (October 28, 1937 – June 18, 2004) was an American actor, writer, producer, assistant director, production manager, and casting director. He was sometimes credited as Ernest Wall, Buck Flower, George "Buck" Flower ...

, had founded a

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...

colony, the

English Settlement ''English Settlement'' is the fifth studio album and first double album by the English rock band XTC, released 12 February 1982 on Virgin Records. It marked a turn towards the more pastoral pop songs that would dominate later XTC releases, wit ...

, in the

Illinois Territory The Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. Its ca ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and Birkbeck laid out the new town there of Albion, Illinois. A widower since 1804, Birkbeck had brought his seven children with him to America, and it was there that his daughter Eliza met and married Gilbert Titus Pell (1796-1860), who came from a prominent family of New York politicians. Gilbert Pell was descended from

Sir John Pell Sir John Pell IV, 2nd Lord of Pelham Manor (February 3, 1643 – ) was a British-born American landowner who owned Pelham, New York, as well as land that now includes the eastern Bronx and southern Westchester County, New York. Early life Pell w ...

(1643-1702), Lord of

Pelham Manor Pelham Manor is an affluent village located in Westchester County, New York. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total population of 5,752. It is located in the town of Pelham. History The Bolton Priory, Edgewood House, and Pelhamdale are ...

, New York—who was the son of English mathematician Dr. John Pell (1611-1685), and nephew and heir of early American pioneer and settler

Thomas Pell Thomas Pell, 1st Lord of Pelham Manor (1608 – September 21, 1669) was an English-born physician who bought the area known as Pelham, New York, as well as land that now includes the eastern Bronx and southern Westchester County, New York, and foun ...

. Gilbert Pell served as a representative in the Illinois legislature, and in the 1850s was appointed United States envoy to Mexico. Morris Pell was born of this union in the new settlement of Albion in 1827, their third child and only son. In 1835 the family separated and Mrs Pell took her children first to

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, then to Plymouth, England, in 1841, where Morris attended the New Grammar School. In 1849 he graduated as

Senior Wrangler The Senior Frog Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain." Specifically, it is the person who a ...

in mathematics at

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 ...

—a position once regarded as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain."

Career

In 1852, aged 24, Pell was chosen from twenty-six candidates to become the first Professor of Mathematics and

at the newly opened

, in the British

colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

, Australia. With his new wife Jane Juliana (née Rusden), his mother and two sisters he sailed from England to Australia on the ''Asiatic'' and became one of the University's three foundation professors. Professor Pell gave the first lecture in Mathematics on 13 October 1852, two days after the University's inauguration, to all 24 students of the University. One of them,

William Windeyer Sir William Charles Windeyer (29 September 1834 – 11 September 1897) was an Australian politician and judge. As a New South Wales politician he was responsible for the creation of Belmore Park (north of the new Central railway constructed i ...

, later to become Chancellor of the University, wrote in his diary: "Went to a lecture at 10 with Mr Pell, who amused as well as instructed, I think I shall like him ...". In 1854, in evidence to a

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

select committee on education, Pell advocated the opening of a

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

grammar school. In 1859 he testified to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

select committees on the Sydney Grammar School and the University of Sydney, regarding the composition of the University Senate, the adverse effect of clergy on enrolments, the value of liberal studies in the education of businessmen and

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

, and the beneficial effect of the university on secondary education. His evidence resulted in ex-officio membership of the University Senate for professors. He was a member of the Senate from 1861 to 1877 and after resignation was re-elected to the senate in 1878 by members of convocation. Pell was a member of the

Australian Philosophical Society The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1 ...

from 1856 and served on its council in 1858. Subsequently,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

granted

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

to the Society and it was renamed the

. Pell was a member and its secretary from 1867, and a member of its council from 1869. For many years almost crippled by an injury to his spine, Pell resigned in mid-1877 as professor of mathematics at Sydney University, on a pension of £412 10s.

Personal life

On 7 May 1879, aged 52, he died of "progressive paralysis" (see

Motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

) and was buried in the

Balmain Cemetery Balmain Cemetery was a cemetery in Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia (the area is very close to the present day Sydney suburb of Balmain). The Pioneers Memorial Park now stands in its place. History When the estate of Balmain was laid out i ...

in Sydney. He was survived by his estranged wife Julia (née Rusden), five sons and three daughters.

References

External links

Morris Birkbeck Pell at the Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pell, Morris Birkbeck 1827 births 1879 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Australian mathematicians University of Sydney faculty Burials in Balmain Cemetery Senior Wranglers People from Albion, Illinois Pell family