Robert Schlapp

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(18 July 1899 – 31 May 1991) was a 20th century British physicist and mathematician of German descent. He was affectionately known as Robin Schlapp.

Life

He was born in

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 ...

on 18 July 1899, the youngest of three children of Anna Lotze and Dr Otto Schlapp. His father only appears in Post Office Directories around 1910, at which point he is listed as a university lecturer living at 54a George Square. His father lectured in German at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and later (1926) became the University's first Professor of German. He was educated at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eight ...

, where his father had taught from 1887 to 1894. He was school

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...

for 1916/17. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, obviously a potential problem due to his German background, he enlisted under the

Derby Scheme The Derby Scheme was introduced during World War I in Britain in the autumn of 1915 by Herbert Kitchener's new Director General of Recruiting, Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby (1865–1948) after which it was named. It used strong pressure ...

and joined the 31st battalion of the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

in 1917 at the age of 18. This was a labour corps rather than a fighting battalion and was involved in tasks such as trench construction. After the war, Schlapp studied mathematics and physics at the

graduating MA around 1923 then doing postgraduate studies at the

University of Cambridge , 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 ...

gaining a doctorate (PhD) in 1925. Returning to the University of Edinburgh he began lecturing in Natural Philosophy (Physics) and Applied Mathematics in autumn 1925. He became Senior Lecturer in Mathematical Physics in 1927. In this role he was assistant to

Charles Galton Darwin Sir Charles Galton Darwin (19 December 1887 – 31 December 1962) was an English physicist who served as director of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) during the Second World War. He was a son of the mathematician George Howard Darwin an ...

(who had recently replaced

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

). In 1927, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker,

Sir Charles Galton Darwin Sir Charles Galton Darwin (19 December 1887 – 31 December 1962) was an English physicist who served as director of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) during the Second World War. He was a son of the mathematician George Howard Darwin a ...

, David Gibb, and

Edward Thomas Copson Edward Thomas Copson FRSE (21 August 1901 – 16 February 1980) was a British mathematician who contributed widely to the development of mathematics at the University of St Andrews, serving as Regius Professor of Mathematics amongst other pos ...

. He served as Curator of the Society's artefacts from 1959 to 1969 and as their Vice President from 1969 to 1972. In 1983, he won the Society's bicentenary medal (presented to him by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

). He was President of the

Edinburgh Mathematical Society The Edinburgh Mathematical Society is a mathematical society for academics in Scotland. History The Society was founded in 1883 by a group of Edinburgh school teachers and academics, on the initiative of Alexander Yule Fraser FRSE and Andrew Je ...

. In 1936 Professor Darwin retired and was replaced by

Max Born Max Born (; 11 December 1882 – 5 January 1970) was a German physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics and supervised the work of a n ...

whom Schlapp then assisted in turn. Schlapp retired in 1969, and died in Ashford in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

on 31 May 1991.

Family

Whilst playing cello in his brother, Walter Schlapp's, string quartet, he met Mary Fleure (who played second violin). He married her in 1940. They had two daughters. Mary died in 1975.

Publications

*''

Colin Maclaurin Colin Maclaurin (; gd, Cailean MacLabhruinn; February 1698 – 14 June 1746) was a Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. He is also known for being a child prodigy and holding the record for bei ...

, a Biographical Note'' (1949) *''The Contribution of the Scots to Mathematics'' (1973)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlapp, Robert 1899 births 1991 deaths Scientists from Edinburgh People educated at George Watson's College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh Scottish mathematicians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish people of German descent