Thomas Jones (23 June 1756 – 18 July 1807) was Head Tutor at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, for twenty years and an outstanding teacher of mathematics. He is notable as a mentor of

Adam Sedgwick Adam Sedgwick (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did on W ...

Biography

Jones was born at

Berriew Berriew ( cy, Aberriw) is a village and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. It is on the Montgomeryshire Canal and the Afon Rhiw, near the confluence (Welsh: ''aber'') with the River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren) at , 79 miles (128 km ...

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

, in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. On completing his studies at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

, Jones was admitted to

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 ...

, on 28 May 1774, as a 'pensioner' (i.e. a fee-paying student, as opposed to a scholar or

sizar At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...

). He was believed to be an illegitimate son of Mr Owen Owen, of Tyncoed, and his housekeeper, who afterwards married a Mr Jones, of Traffin,

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, Thomas then being brought up as his son. On 27 June 1776, Jones migrated from St John's College to Trinity College. He became a scholar in 1777 and obtained his BA in 1779, winning the First

Smith's Prize The Smith's Prize was the name of each of two prizes awarded annually to two research students in mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1769. Following the reorganization in 1998, they are now awarded under the n ...

and becoming

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 1782, he obtained his MA and became a Fellow of Trinity College in 1781. He became a Junior Dean, 1787–1789 and a Tutor, 1787–1807. He was ordained a deacon at the

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

parish on 18 June 1780. Then he was ordained priest, at the

Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...

parish on 6 June 1784,

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

Fen Ditton Fen Ditton is a village on the northeast edge of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. The parish covers an area of . Fen Ditton lies on the east bank of the River Cam, on the road from Cambridge to Clayhithe, and close to junction 34 of the A ...

, Cambridgeshire, in 1784, and then canon of

Swaffham Prior Swaffham Prior is a small village in East Cambridgeshire, England. Lying 5 miles west of Newmarket, and two miles south west of Burwell, the village is often paired with its neighbour Swaffham Bulbeck, and are collectively referred to as 'Th ...

, also 1784. On 11 December 1791, he preached before the university, at

Great St Mary's St Mary the Great is a Church of England parish and university church at the north end of King's Parade in central Cambridge, England. It is known locally as Great St Mary's or simply GSM to distinguish it from "Church of St Mary the Less, Cambri ...

, a sermon against duelling (from Exodus XX. 13), which was prompted by a duel that had lately taken place near Newmarket between

Henry Applewhaite Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

and

Richard Ryecroft Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, undergraduates of Pembroke, in which the latter was fatally wounded. Jones died on 18 July 1807, in lodgings in

Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He is buried in the cemetery of

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

. A bust and a memorial tablet are in the ante-chapel of Trinity College. His academic mentor was John Cranke (1746–1816). His Cambridge tutor was

Thomas Postlethwaite Thomas Postlethwaite (1731 – 4 May 1798) was an English clergyman and Cambridge fellow, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1789 to 1798. Biography Thomas Postlethwaite was the son of Richard Postlethwaite of Crooklands, near Milnt ...

Notes

References

* ''Dictionary of National Biography,'' Smith, Elder & Co., 1908–1986, vol. 10, pp. 1055–1056. * J. Wilkes, ''Encyclopedia Londinensis,'' Eds. J. Jones and J. Adlard, 1810–1829, vol. 11, pp. 256–258. * J.W. Clark and T.M. Hughes, ''The Life and Letters of the Reverend Adam Sedgwick,'' Cambridge University Press: 1890; vol. 1, pp. 73–75. * J. Gascoigne, ''Cambridge in the Age of Enlightenment'', 1989, pp. 226–227, p. 232, p. 234, p. 243. * P. Searby, ''A History of the University of Cambridge'', vol. 3 (1750–1870), ed. C.N.L. Brooke et al., 1997. pp. 309–310. * ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', vol. 30, eds. H. C. G. Matthew and B. Harrison, 2004, p. 645. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Thomas 1756 births 1807 deaths Welsh mathematicians Senior Wranglers Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge