Edmund Taylor Whittaker ( English Edmund Taylor Whittaker , October 24, 1873, Southport , Lancashire , England , United Kingdom - March 24, 1956, Edinburgh , Scotland , United Kingdom ) - English mathematician, expert in applied mathematics , mathematical physics and the theory of special functions .
| Edmund Taylor Whittaker | |
|---|---|
| Edmund taylor whittaker | |
 Portrait of E.T. Whittaker ( ) | |
| Birth name | |
| Date of Birth | October 24, 1873 |
| Place of Birth | Southport , Lancashire , England , UK |
| Date of death | March 24, 1956 (82 years) |
| Place of death | Edinburgh , Scotland , UK |
| A country |  Great Britain |
| Scientific field | maths |
| Place of work | University of Cambridge Dublin University , Edinburgh University |
| Alma mater | Trinity College (Cambridge) |
| Academic title | Professor |
| supervisor | Andrew Forsyth George Howard Darwin [1] |
| Famous students | Godfrey Harold Hardy , , George Neville Watson [1] |
| Awards and prizes | (1897) Sylvester Medal (1931) Medal de Morgan (1935) Copley Medal (1954) |
Content
Biography
Edmund Taylor Whittaker was born in Southport ( Lancashire , England) on October 24, 1873 in the family of Selina Septima Taylor ( Selina Septima Taylor ) and John Whittaker ( John Whittaker ). He studied at the Manchester Grammar School ( Manchester Grammar School , see also School of Letters ), and then received a scholarship to study at Trinity College , University of Cambridge [2] .
Edmund Taylor Whittaker began studying at Trinity College in 1892. Among his mentors were mathematicians Andrew Forsyth and George Howard Darwin . In 1895, Whittaker was recognized as the second among the best students of mathematics of the University of Cambridge ( eng. Second Wrangler ) [2] .
In 1896, Whittaker was elected a member of the Board of Trinity College ( Eng. Fellow of Trinity College ). After that, he began teaching and, in particular, made significant changes to the course of mathematical analysis , which were later reflected in his book, ( A Course of Modern Analysis , 1902; since its publication in 1915, co-authored this book is George Neville Watson ). He also taught courses on electricity and magnetism, astronomy and geometric optics [2] .
In 1901, Whittaker married Mary Ferguson McNaghten Boyd , the daughter of Scottish priest Thomas Boyd. Subsequently, they had three sons and two daughters, and the middle son, , also became a famous mathematician [2] .
From 1901 to 1906, Whittaker was secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society , and in 1906–1912 - Royal Astronomer of Ireland , as well as professor of astronomy at the University of Dublin , where, in addition to astronomy, he also taught mathematical physics [2] .
In 1905, Whittaker was elected a member of the Royal Society of London , which in 1931 awarded him the Sylvester Medal , and in 1954 the Copley Medal . Whittaker was a member of the London Mathematical Society , and in 1928-1929 he was the president of this society [2] .
In 1912, Whittaker moved to Edinburgh , where he received the position of head of the department of mathematics at Edinburgh University (which was vacant after the previous head of the department, , died in November 1911). There Whittaker and continued to work until his retirement in 1946 [2] .
Scientific Results
The main work of Whittaker devoted to mathematical analysis , including numerical analysis . He worked on partial differential equations and, in particular, obtained solutions of the three-dimensional Laplace equation . He was also interested in the theory of relativity and the theory of electromagnetism — in particular, the construction of solutions for the Maxwell equations [2] .
Part of Whitteker's work is devoted to the history of science - in particular, the book “The History of the Theory of the Aether and Electricity, from the time of Descartes to the end of the XIX century” ( 1910) [2] .
Russian translations
- Whitteker, E. Analytical dynamics. M .: URSS, 2004. 595 pages. Ed. 2nd, rev. ISBN 5-354-00849-2 .
- Whittaker, Edmund Taylor . History of the theory of ether and electricity. Volume 1. Moscow. 2001 512 p.
- Whittaker, Edmund Taylor . History of the theory of ether and electricity. Volume 2. Moscow. 2004 464 pp.
- Whitteker, E. T., Watson, J.N. The Course of Modern Analysis, 2nd edition, M .: Fizmatlit, 1963, in two volumes.
- Volume 1. Basic analysis operations.
- Volume 2. Transcendental functions.
See also
- Whittaker-Shannon Interpolation Formula
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Edmund Taylor Whittaker (HTML). Mathematics Genealogy Project, Department of Mathematics, North Dakota State University. The appeal date is February 13, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 JJ O'Connor and EF Robertson. Edmund Taylor Whittaker (HTML). School of Mathematics and University of St. Petersburg Andrews, Scotland. The appeal date is February 13, 2015.