Wesley Stoker Barker Woolhouse (6 May 1809 – 12 August 1893) was an English

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 ...

with diverse interests in

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

, the design of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

measurement Measurement is the quantification of attributes of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other objects or events. In other words, measurement is a process of determining how large or small a physical quantity is as compared ...

s, and many other fields, publishing books in all these fields.

Biography

He was born in

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

, England, and at the age of thirteen won a mathematical prize offered by ''

The Ladies' Diary ''The Ladies' Diary: or, Woman's Almanack'' appeared annually in London from 1704 to 1841 after which it was succeeded by ''The Lady's and Gentleman's Diary''. It featured material relating to calendars etc. including sunrise and sunset times an ...

'', competing against the adult competition. From 1830 to 1837 he was Deputy Secretary of

the Nautical Almanac ''The Nautical Almanac'' has been the familiar name for a series of official British almanacs published under various titles since the first issue of ''The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris'', for 1767: this was the first nautical alm ...

. In 1844 he became editor of ''

The Lady's and Gentleman's Diary ''The Lady's and Gentleman's Diary'' was a recreational mathematics magazine formed as a successor of ''The Ladies' Diary'' and ''Gentleman's Diary'' in 1841. It was published annually between 1841 and 1871 by the Company of Stationers; its editor ...

'', and continued in this role until 1865. A problem he published in ''The Lady's and Gentleman's Diary'' was the inspiration for

Thomas Kirkman Thomas Penyngton Kirkman FRS (31 March 1806 – 3 February 1895) was a British mathematician and ordained minister of the Church of England. Despite being primarily a churchman, he maintained an active interest in research-level mathematics, a ...

to publish his first mathematical work, on

Kirkman's schoolgirl problem Kirkman's schoolgirl problem is a problem in combinatorics proposed by Rev. Thomas Penyngton Kirkman in 1850 as Query VI in ''The Lady's and Gentleman's Diary'' (pg.48). The problem states: Fifteen young ladies in a school walk out three abrea ...

, beginning the mathematical study of

combinatorial design Combinatorial design theory is the part of combinatorial mathematics that deals with the existence, construction and properties of systems of finite sets whose arrangements satisfy generalized concepts of ''balance'' and/or ''symmetry''. These co ...

s. His book, ''Essays on Musical Intervals, Harmonics, and the Temperament of the Musical Scale,'' advocated 19-tone equal temperament and used a division of the

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

into 730 parts, now designated as ''Woolhouse units'', for measuring musical intervals. He is credited with a formula for

numerical integration In analysis, numerical integration comprises a broad family of algorithms for calculating the numerical value of a definite integral, and by extension, the term is also sometimes used to describe the numerical solution of differential equations ...

. In 1848 he was a co-founder of the

Institute of Actuaries The Institute of Actuaries was one of the two professional bodies which represented actuaries in the United Kingdom. The institute was based in England, while the other body, the Faculty of Actuaries, was based in Scotland. While the Institute and ...

. He died on 12 August 1893 and was buried in a family grave on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

. His daughter, Emma Mary (Woolhouse) Rea, married musician Dr. William Rea of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, England.

Books

*''An Elementary Treatise on the application of the Algebraic Analysis to Geometry'' (1831) *''Essays on Musical Intervals, Harmonics, and the Temperament of the Musical Scale'' (1835) (summarized on,Tonalsoft Encyclopedia of Microtonal Music Theory
/ref> reprinted as ) *''Investigation of Mortality in the Indian Army,'' (1839)
''Elements of the Differential Calculus''
(1852)
''The Measures, Weights and Moneys of All Nations: and an Analysis of the Christian, Hebrew And Mahometan Calendars''
(1856) (reprinted as )
''On Interpolation, Summation, and the Adjustment of Numerical Tables,''
(1865)

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woolhouse, Wesley Stoker Barker British actuaries British music theorists 1809 births 1893 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery People from North Shields 19th-century British businesspeople 19th-century musicologists