William Henry Besant (1 November 1828 – 2 June 1917) was a British
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 ...
, brother of novelist
Walter Besant
Sir Walter Besant (14 August 1836 – 9 June 1901) was an English novelist and historian. William Henry Besant was his brother, and another brother, Frank, was the husband of Annie Besant.
Early life and education
The son of wine merchant Willi ...
. Another brother, Frank, was the husband of
Annie Besant.
Parentage
William was born in
Portsea, Portsmouth
Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth.
Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all th ...
on 1 November 1828.
According to William's brother Walter, their father "tried many things. For some time he was in very low water; then he got up again and settled in a quiet office. He was not a pushing man, nor did he know how to catch at opportunities. Mostly he waited. Meanwhile, he was a studious man, whose chief delight was in
reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
... He was never in the least degree moved by the
Calvinistic
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
fanaticism of the time... Although regular in attendance at Church, he never ventured to present himself at Holy Communion."
Walter Besant
Sir Walter Besant (14 August 1836 – 9 June 1901) was an English novelist and historian. William Henry Besant was his brother, and another brother, Frank, was the husband of Annie Besant.
Early life and education
The son of wine merchant Willi ...
(1902) ''Autobiography of Walter Besant'', Hutchinson
Walter also wrote that their mother "was a
New Forest
The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...
girl, born and brought up in a village called
Dibden near
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* T ...
and Beaulieu (Bewlay). The church stands actually in a forest... My mother was the youngest of a large family. During her childhood she ran about on the outskirts of the Forest, catching and riding bareback ponies, and drinking in the
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
and old-wife wisdom of that sequestered district...Her father was by trade a builder, contractor, and architect...My mother was the cleverest woman I have ever known: the quickest witted; the surest and safest in her judgements; the most prophetic for those she loved; the most far-seeing…The comfort of the house, the well-being of the children, were alike due to my mother’s genius for administration. Imagine, if you can, her pride and joy when her eldest child, her eldest son, took prizes and scholarships at Cambridge."
[
The boys attended Saint Paul's Grammar School. "My brother, the best man that ever came out of the school, was the captain in 1846, going to Cambridge in October of the year."][
]
Cambridge
In a competition, William won a scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1844. He took part in Cambridge Mathematical Tripos
The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University.
Origin
In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was ...
in 1850, gaining the title of 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 ...
. He was also winner of Smith's Prize. But then, as Walter explained, he needed a rest:
:Two or three years after illiam Henry became Senior Wrangler he had a long and serious illness. At the same time my youngest sister – a child of six or so – was threatened with Saint Vitus' Dance. A change of air was wanted for both, lodgings were taken at Freshwater Bay, in the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
. I went with the two patients, and it was a delightful holiday. The sick people were convalescent. My brother talked to me all day long about Cambridge, and what he thought I ought to do. My imagination was fired. It seemed to me – it seems to me still – the most splendid thing in the world for a young fellow to go to the University; there to contend with young giants; and, if he can, to keep his field and be victorious.[
In 1853 William became a ]Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of Saint John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...
where he was a lecturer in mathematics until 1889. His pupils included William Burnside
:''This English mathematician is sometimes confused with the Irish mathematician William S. Burnside (1839–1920).''
__NOTOC__
William Burnside (2 July 1852 – 21 August 1927) was an English mathematician. He is known mostly as an early rese ...
, A. W. Flux and G. B. Mathews. Besant served as an examiner for Tripos in 1856, 1857, and 1885. He was also an examiner for University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
from 1859 to 1864. Besant was also a coach for students taking the Tripos; twenty-one of his students placed in the ranks of top ten wranglers. According to Mathews, "he had the great advantage (for a coach) of being equally good in geometry, analysis, and dynamics."[ G. B. Mathews (1917]
W. H. Besant
from Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
99:310,1 (#2485)
In 1859 Besant vacated his Fellowship with Saint John's college to marry Margaret Elizabeth Willis, daughter of Rev. Robert Willis, a professor of natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science.
From the ancient wo ...
at Cambridge. They had two sons and a daughter. In 1863 Besant published ''Elementary Hydrostatics'', a textbook
A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...
on fluid statics
Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies the condition of the equilibrium of a floating body and submerged body " fluids at hydrostatic equilibrium and the pressure in a fluid, or exerted by a fluid, on an imm ...
containing mathematical exercises such as students might face in examination. The book was reprinted several times, and revised in 1892. He also wrote ''Treatise on Hydromechanics'' (1867) covering fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids ( liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them.
It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and ...
. His book ''Elementary Conics'' came out in 1901.
Besant was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
(Whatever shines should be observed)
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from 10 February 1854. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1871. In 1883 Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
bestowed upon him, and Edward Routh
Edward John Routh (; 20 January 18317 June 1907), was an English mathematician, noted as the outstanding coach of students preparing for the Mathematical Tripos examination of the University of Cambridge in its heyday in the middle of the ninet ...
, the degree Sc.D.
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
He died on 2 June 1917 and is buried at the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge.
Publications
Papers
The following articles by W.H. Besant appeared in ''The Quarterly Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics
''The Quarterly Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics'' was a mathematics journal that first appeared as such in 1855, but as the continuation of ''The Cambridge Mathematical Journal'' that had been launched in 1836 and had run in four volumes b ...
'':
* 1861: volume 4, page 12: "The equilibrium of a bent lamina", and page 18: "The equilibrium of a flexible but inextensible and inelastic surface".
* 1864: volume 6, page 140: "On Meunier's theorem and on curvature of curves in space", and page 326: "Mathematical Notes", concerning chords of curvature on a conic and initial tension on a string.
* 1870: volume 10, page 110: "Note on the envelope of the pedal line of a triangle".
* 1871: volume 11, page 38: "Mathematical Notes", concerning dynamics, aberration, glissettes, and pedal lines.
Besant also published in Messenger of Mathematics
The ''Messenger of Mathematics'' is a defunct British mathematics journal. The founding editor-in-chief was William Allen Whitworth with Charles Taylor and volumes 1–58 were published between 1872 and 1929. James Whitbread Lee Glaisher was th ...
:
* 1881: volume 11, pages 63,4: "Note on elasticity"
Books
* 1889
Elementary Hydrostatics
from Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
.
* 1890
Notes on Roulettes and Glissettes
from Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
Historical Math Monographs.
* 1895
Conic sections treated geometrically
from Cornell University Historical Math Monographs.
* 1913: (with A. S. Ramsey
A Treatise on Hydromechanics
from Google Books.
References
Obituary William Henry Besant
from Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (MNRAS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in astronomy and astrophysics. It has been in continuous existence since 1827 and publishes letters and papers reporting orig ...
, volume 78, November 1918.
External links
*
*
*
Author profile
in the database zbMATH
zbMATH Open, formerly Zentralblatt MATH, is a major reviewing service providing reviews and abstracts for articles in pure and applied mathematics, produced by the Berlin office of FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastruct ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Besant, William Henry
1828 births
1917 deaths
19th-century British mathematicians
20th-century British mathematicians
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fluid dynamicists
Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge