Sir Robert Forsyth Scott (28 July 1849 – 18 November 1933) was a

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 ...

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and Master of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

Life

Scott was born in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, the eldest son of Reverend George Scott, a Minister in the church at

Dairsie Dairsie, or Osnaburgh, is a village and parish in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is south-southwest of Leuchars Junction, and east-northeast of Cupar on the A91 Stirling to St Andrews road. The village grew out of two smaller settlements (calle ...

and Mary Forsyth, daughter of the Edinburgh advocate Robert Forsyth.Biography of Robert Forsyth Scott
/ref> Scott was educated at the High School, Edinburgh, then in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

before becoming a student at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. In 1870, while a student at University College, London, he was awarded a Whitworth Exhibition. He went on to read mathematics at St John's College, where he was fourth wrangler in the

Tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

in 1875 and was elected to a fellowship in 1877.Digitization of History: Centre for History and Economics
/ref> After publishing ''The Theory of Determinants and Their Applications'' in 1880, Scott turned his attention to the law, become a

in 1883, and to institutional history, including histories of St. John's College, Cambridge, published between 1882 and 1907. In 1908 he was appointed as the Master of St John's College, a position he held until his death in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 1933, and from 1910 to 1912 he served as Vice-chancellor of the University. On his death he left the library of St John's one of the largest collection of Burmese manuscripts in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. He was the elder brother of Sir

James George Scott Sir James George Scott (pseudonym Shway Yoe, 25 December 1851 – 4 April 1935) was a Scottish journalist and colonial administrator who helped establish British colonial rule in Burma, and in addition introduced football to Burma. Life He w ...

Publications

*
History of St John's College, Cambridge
' *
The theory of determinants and their applications
' (2nd ed., revised by

George Ballard Mathews 250px George Ballard Mathews, FRS (23 February 1861 – 19 March 1922) was an English mathematician. He was born in London. He studied at the Ludlow Grammar School which had instruction in Hebrew and Sanscrit as well as in Greek and Latin. He ...

), Cambridge University Press, 1904.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Robert Forsyth 1849 births 1933 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Scottish mathematicians 19th-century English mathematicians Members of Lincoln's Inn Masters of St John's College, Cambridge Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge