William Henry Whitfeld (15 October 1856,

Ashford, Kent Ashford is a town in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Great Stour at the southern or Escarpment, scarp edge of the North Downs, about southeast of central London and northwest of Folkestone by road. In the ...

– 1 December 1915) was an English mathematician, leading expert on

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and

whist Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History Whist is a descendant of the 16th-century game of ''trump'' ...

, and card editor for ''The Field''. He is known as the poser of the Whitfeld Six problem in double dummy bridge. (link to text from the website doubledummy.net) After graduating from

Chatham House Grammar School (May Chatham House Flourish) , established = 1797 , free_label_3 = Merged , free_3 = 2011 , closed = , type = Grammar schoolAcademy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...

, Whitfeld matriculated in 1876 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 ...

. He graduated there in 1880 with B.A. as twelfth wrangler in the

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 a ...

and in 1884 with M.A. For several years he was a tutor and lecturer at

Cavendish College, Cambridge Cavendish College, Cambridge was a public hostel of the University of Cambridge, active from 1873 to 1892. Its former buildings now house Homerton College, Cambridge. History Founding It was founded by the British clergyman, educational ...

. In 1880 he published some double-dummy problems in whist in ''The Cambridge Review: A Journal of University Life and Thought'' (an undergraduates' journal founded in 1879). His famous problem now known as "Whitfeld Six" was published in the London magazine ''The Field'' in the January 31st 1885 issue. Whitfeld's whist problems are related to the mathematics of nested balanced incomplete block designs. He wrote the article ''Bridge'' for the 11th edition of the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica''. He also wrote a 6-page essay entitled ''Probabilities'' for the 1902 book ''Principles and Practice of Whist''. In 1900 he married Ida Alberta Russell (1877-1958). They had three sons and three daughters. The three sons were Francis Russell (1902–1975), Miles (1903–1997), and Ivan (1904–1983) and three daughters were Ida Mary (Mary) (1901-1987), Rachel (Ray) Elizabeth (1908-1993) and Margaret ("Maggie") Penmon (1913-1995). All moved to Western Australia, Miles and Ivan first later their mother Ida Alberta with Francis and the three daughters came a few months later. Ida Alberta, Mother, Ivan, Ida Mary, Rachel and Margret eventually returned to England leaving Francis and Miles in Australia.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, William Henry 1856 births 1915 deaths 19th-century English mathematicians 20th-century English mathematicians People educated at Chatham House Grammar School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Cambridge Combinatorialists English magazine editors