Hector Munro Macdonald facts for kids
Hector Munro Macdonald (born January 19, 1865 – died May 16, 1935) was a brilliant Scottish mathematician. He was born in Edinburgh and later studied advanced mathematics at Cambridge University. Before that, he earned a special degree from Aberdeen University. He was known for his work on pure mathematics and understanding how electric waves behave.
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Early Life and Education
Hector Macdonald was born in Edinburgh. His parents, Annie Munro and Donald Macdonald, were from a place called Kiltearn. Hector was the older of their two sons.
When he was young, his family moved to a farm near Hill of Fearn in Easter Ross. He went to the local school there. Later, he attended the Royal Academy in Tain and then the Old Aberdeen Grammar School.
In 1882, Hector began studying at Aberdeen University. He was a very good student. In 1886, he graduated with top honors in mathematics. He also won a special award called a Fullerton Scholarship.
Cambridge University Years
After finishing his degree in Scotland, Macdonald went to Clare College, Cambridge. He continued his math studies there. In 1889, he achieved a high rank in the Mathematical Tripos exam.
The next year, he became a fellow at Clare College. In 1891, he won the second Smith's Prize for his excellent work. He held his fellowship at Clare College until 1908. Later, in 1914, he was given an honorary fellowship by the college.
Achievements and Recognition
In 1901, Hector Macdonald received the Adams Prize. This was a very important award for his mathematical research. That same year, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS). This is a big honor for scientists.
In 1916, the Royal Society gave him another major award, the Royal Medal. From 1916 to 1918, he was the President of the London Mathematical Society. This showed how respected he was by other mathematicians.
War Service
During World War I, Macdonald helped with the war effort in London. He worked for the Ministry of Munitions, where he managed wages. In 1916, he moved to the Ministry of Labour and stayed there until 1919. For his important service, he was given the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1918.
Scientific Contributions
Macdonald spent a lot of time studying electric waves. He solved very difficult problems about how these waves bend or spread out, a process called diffraction. He used complex mathematical tools called Bessel functions to do this.
In 1903, he published a solution to a problem about a perfectly conducting sphere. However, another famous mathematician, Henri Poincaré, found a small error. Macdonald quickly corrected his solution in 1904.
Wireless Waves
One of the biggest problems Macdonald worked on was about wireless waves. Around the time he published his work on electric waves, Guglielmo Marconi successfully sent the first wireless signals across the Atlantic Ocean. This was amazing, but it also created a puzzle.
Scientists thought wireless signals, like light, should travel in straight lines. They shouldn't be able to bend around the Earth's curve. But Marconi's signals clearly did! Macdonald suggested that the Earth's atmosphere was bending the waves. Today, we know that these waves are actually reflected by a layer in the atmosphere called the ionosphere.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1905, Macdonald became a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Aberdeen. He stayed at the university for the rest of his life. He lived at 33 College Bounds in Aberdeen.
Also in 1905, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. This was another important recognition of his scientific work.
Hector Macdonald passed away in 1935 in Aberdeen. He is buried near the east wall of St Machar's Cathedral in Old Aberdeen.
Family
Hector Macdonald never married and did not have any children.
