Stephen Barnabus Kelleher (1875–1917) was an Irish mathematician who served as

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 ...

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

(TCD) from 1914 to 1917.Kelleher, Stephen B.
Oxford Index

Early life and career

Kelleher was born 11 June 1875 at 25 King Street, in

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

, to William Kelleher (an accountant) and Helena Walsh. He attended Christian Brothers schools in the city and then studied mathematics at

Queen's College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1 ...

(BA 1895, MA 1896). Moving to Dublin, he took another mathematics degree at TCD (BA 1902, large gold medal), where he became a Scholar in 1900 and became a Fellow in 1904 (and MA 1905). In 1910 he was appointed assistant to the Professor of Natural Philosophy there, and in 1914, he was appointed Erasmus Smith's Professor of Mathematics. He died on 18 August 1917, due to sarcomatosis

asthenia Weakness is a symptom of a number of different conditions. The causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have true or perceived muscle weakness. True muscle weakness is a primary symptom of a variety of skeletal muscle diseases, i ...

Family

On 22 December 1910, he married Isabel Marion Johnston (of a Derry family) in London. She had made history in January 1904 by becoming the first woman to register at TCD. The couple had two daughters.

Controversy

Kelleher was on the Royal Commission to draw up a plan for the establishment of a university in Ireland that would be satisfactory to Catholics. The resulting Fry Commission Report (1907) had five principal findings, the first two being: 1. That TCD is satisfactory for Protestants but not for Catholics. 2. A new college in Dublin acceptable to Catholics is recommended; one commissioner dissenting. The lone dissenter was Kelleher, an irony as he was himself Catholic. As a TCD man, be believed that it would be "a grave danger to the interests of Irish lay Catholics and a menace to the future peace of the country."The Messenger
The Messenger 1907

References

External links

Stephen Barnabus Kelleher in The Dublin University Calendar
Irish mathematicians Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Scholars of Trinity College Dublin 1875 births 1917 deaths {{europe-mathematician-stub