William Loudon Mollison (19 September 1851 – 10 March 1929) was a Scottish mathematician and academic. From 1915 to 1929, he was Master of

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

Early life and education

Mollison was born on 19 September 1851 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, Scotland. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School, then an all-boys grammar school. He studied mathematics and

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...

at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, graduating in 1872 with a first class degree. That year, he was awarded the Ferguson Scholarship by Aberdeen and matriculated into

to continue his mathematical studies. He became a Foundation Scholar in 1873. His private tutor while at Cambridge was Edward Routh. He graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1876 as the

Second Wrangler At the University of Cambridge in England, a "Wrangler" is a student who gains first-class honours in the final year of the university's degree in mathematics. The highest-scoring student is the Senior Wrangler, the second highest is the Secon ...

Career

On 29 April 1876, Mollison was elected 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 ...

. He was an examiner for the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

between 1876 and 1880. He was a mathematics lecturer at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

from 1877 to 1882, and at Clare College from 1882. In addition to his college teaching, he was a private tutor or "coach" in mathematics. Due to ill health, he moved from teaching a large number of students, privately and through his college, into administration. He was appointed junior tutor of Clare College in 1880, and was made its senior tutor in May 1894. He was elected a member of the Council of the Senate of the University Of Cambridge in 1892, and appointed Secretary of the General Board of Studies of the University in 1904: he stepped down from both these posts in 1920. He served as '' locum tenens'' for the then Master (Edward Atkinson) from 1913 to 1915. Mollison was unanimously elected as Atkinson successor as the 38th Master of Clare College, Cambridge in March 1915.

Personal life

Mollison was married to Ellen Mayhew. They had one son and two daughters, one of whom pre-deceased him. His wife died in 1917, and he provided the endowment for the

Mayhew Prize The Mayhew Prize is a prize awarded annually by the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge to the student showing the greatest distinction in applied mathematics, primarily for courses offered by DAMTP, but also for some courses offered b ...

, a mathematics prize awarded by the University of Cambridge, in her honour. His son, William Mayhew Mollison, was a distinguished ear, nose and throat surgeon, and his son

Patrick Mollison Patrick Loudon Mollison, (17 March 1914 – 26 November 2011), was a British haematologist, described as 'the father of transfusion medicine'. Life Mollison was born on 17 March 1914, to Beatrice Marjorie, née Walker, and William Mayhew Moll ...

, a noted haematologist. Mollison died on 10 March 1929 in London, England; he was aged 77. His funeral was held at the chapel of Clare College, Cambridge, and he was buried in the

Ascension Parish Burial Ground The Ascension Parish Burial Ground, formerly known as the burial ground for the parish of St Giles and St Peter's, is a cemetery off Huntingdon Road in Cambridge, England. Many notable University of Cambridge academics are buried there, includi ...

alongside his wife.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mollison, William Loudon 1851 births 1929 deaths 20th-century Scottish mathematicians Masters of Clare College, Cambridge People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Second Wranglers