Dr Ellice Martin Horsburgh

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

AMICE (1870 – 28 December 1935) was a Scottish mathematician and engineer. He was an expert on

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

and a skilled photographer.

Life

He was born in Kelso in 1870, the son of Ellen Sarah Vost and the Rev Andrew Horsburgh, a preacher and missionary in India. He was educated at the Collegiate School, 27/28

Charlotte Square 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end of George Street and was intended ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He then trained for the Indian Civil Service with

Wren and Gurney Wren and Gurney was a Cramming (education), crammer which specialised in preparing candidates for the public examinations of the army, Civil Service (United Kingdom), the United Kingdom civil service and Indian civil service. The college was foun ...

but, falling very ill, was instructed to go to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

to improve his health. During this sea journey he became interested in navigational mathematics. He arrived at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

during a financial panic and then got mixed up in the Coolgardie Gold Rush of 1892. After two years of little success as a gold miner he returned to Scotland in 1894. He then went to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

where he graduated MA BSc in engineering in 1897. He gained a further BSc in mathematics and natural philosophy (physics) in 1899. He began lecturing in electrical engineering at Leith Technical College around 1900. In 1903 he moved to the

. In 1904 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

George Chrystal George Chrystal FRSE FRS (8 March 1851 – 3 November 1911) was a Scottish mathematician. He is primarily know for his books on algebra and his studies of seiches (wave patterns in large inland bodies of water) which earned him a Gold Meda ...

, Charles Tweedie, Sir Thomas Hudson Beare and

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

. The

awarded him an honorary doctorate (DSc) in 1912. From 1920 to 1935 he was a Reader in Technical Mathematics. He also worked as a consultant to Brunton’s Wire Mills in

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Ol ...

. He died at his home, 11 Granville TerraceEdinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1911-12 in

on 28 December 1935. He is buried in

Dirleton Kirk Dirleton Kirk is a church in the village of Dirleton, in East Lothian, Scotland. The church (at ) is to the north of the village green. Dirleton lies on the south shore of the Firth of Forth 21 miles east of Edinburgh and two miles west of No ...

yard in

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

, east of Edinburgh.

Family

He married Helen Howden Ferme in 1920.

Publications

*''Calculating Machines'' (1919) *''The Fracture of Wire in Steel Ropes'' (1921) *''Modern Instruments and Methods of Calculation''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsburgh, Ellice Martin 1870 births 1935 deaths People from Kelso, Scottish Borders Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish electrical engineers 20th-century Scottish mathematicians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh