Albert Joseph McConnell facts for kids

Albert Joseph McConnell (1903 – 1993) was an important Irish mathematician and a scientist who studied physics. He spent his entire career at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). He even became the head of the college, known as the Provost.

Early Life and Studies

Albert Joseph McConnell was born in Ballymena, which is in County Antrim, Ireland. He loved learning about numbers and ideas. He went to Trinity College Dublin to study Mathematics and Philosophy. He finished his first degree in 1926.

After that, he went to the Sapienza University of Rome in Italy. There, he worked with a famous professor named Tullio Levi-Civita. Albert earned his special doctorate degree in 1928. That same year, he represented Ireland at a big meeting for mathematicians. It was called the International Congress of Mathematicians in Bologna. He gave a speech about a complex math topic called "The Torsion of Riemannian Space."

Career at Trinity College

When Albert came back to Trinity College, he became a Professor of Natural Philosophy. This means he taught physics. He was also chosen as a Fellow in 1930. He was very good at a type of math called tensor calculus. He wrote a book about it in 1931, called Applications of the Absolute Differential Calculus. Later, he helped edit another important book in 1940. It was about the math papers of Sir William Rowan Hamilton.

Becoming Provost

In 1952, Albert Joseph McConnell was chosen to be the Provost of Trinity College. The Provost is like the principal or president of the whole college. He held this important job for 22 years. He retired in 1974.

During his time as Provost, he made many big changes at Trinity. He allowed younger teachers and staff to have more important roles. These roles included Bursar, Senior Lecturer, and Registrar. He also made a huge change for women. He allowed women to be chosen as Fellows and Scholars of Trinity. This meant they could also live on the college campus.

Albert McConnell was the last Provost to be chosen for life. This means he could have stayed in the job forever if he wanted. But he chose to retire. His retirement made it possible for future Provosts to be elected for a set time, usually ten years.

Retirement

After he retired, Albert McConnell was asked to join the Council of State. This is a group of people who advise the President of Ireland.

Books

• 1940 The Mathematical Papers of Sir William Rowan Hamilton: Volume 2, Dynamics, Cambridge, (co-edited with A. W. Conway)
• 1931 Applications of the Absolute Differential Calculus, Blackie & Son, reprinted by Dover in 1947 as Applications of Tensor Analysis