John Kingman facts for kids

Sir John Frank Charles Kingman (born 28 August 1939) is a famous British mathematician. He is known for creating the mathematics behind the Coalescent theory. This theory is a special way to understand how genes are passed down through families over many generations. It's super important in a field called population genetics, which studies how groups of living things change over time.

Sir John was a professor at the University of Cambridge from 2001 to 2006. He also led the Isaac Newton Institute, a place where mathematicians and scientists work together on big ideas.

Early Life and School Days

John Kingman was born on August 28, 1939, in Beckenham, Kent, England. His grandfather worked in a coal mine, and his father was a government scientist. John grew up near London and went to Christ's College, Finchley, which was a state grammar school at the time.

When he was 17, in 1956, he won a scholarship to study mathematics at Pembroke College, Cambridge. After finishing his first degree in 1960, he started working on his PhD. He was studying interesting topics like queueing theory (how lines form, like at a checkout) and Markov chains (how things change over time in a step-by-step way).

A Career in Mathematics

John Kingman's early career involved moving between universities. His first supervisor, Peter Whittle, moved to the University of Manchester. Instead of following him, John went to the University of Oxford to work with another mathematician, David Kendall.

After a year, David Kendall moved back to Cambridge as a professor. So, John Kingman also returned to Cambridge. This time, he came back as a teacher and a Fellow of Pembroke College. Even though he never officially finished his PhD, he was already teaching and doing important research!

Teaching and Research at Sussex

In 1964, John married Valerie Crompton, who was a historian. In 1965, he became a "Reader" (a senior academic position) at the new University of Sussex. His wife was also teaching there. He loved his time at Sussex, saying it was "alive with ideas and opportunities." After just one year, he became a Professor of Mathematics and Statistics. He stayed there until 1969.

Moving to Oxford

In 1969, John Kingman moved to Oxford, becoming the Wallis Professor of Mathematics. He held this important position until 1985. He helped make statistics a more serious subject at Oxford.

While at Oxford, he was also involved in many other important roles. He chaired the Science and Engineering Research Council, which helps fund science and engineering research in the UK. He also visited universities in Australia.

Developing the Coalescent Theory

During his time at Oxford, Sir John Kingman developed the amazing idea called the Coalescent theory. Imagine tracing your family tree backwards in time. The coalescent theory does something similar for genes in a population. It helps scientists understand how genes from many individuals can be traced back to a single common ancestor. This theory makes it much easier to study how populations change over long periods. It's a key tool in modern population genetics.

Leading the University of Bristol

In October 1985, Sir John Kingman became the Vice-Chancellor (the main leader) of the University of Bristol. He stayed in Bristol until 2001. During his time there, he also held many other important roles. He was president of the Royal Statistical Society and the London Mathematical Society, which are big groups for mathematicians and statisticians.

He also worked with public service groups like the British Council and the British Technology Group. He was even on the board of big companies like IBM. In 2000, he became the first chairman of the Statistics Commission, which checks the work of the UK government's statistics agency.

Awards and Recognition

Sir John Kingman has received many honors for his amazing work.

• In 1985, Queen Elizabeth II made him a knight. This means he can use "Sir" before his name.
• He has received special degrees from many universities, including the University of Sussex and the University of Bristol.
• He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1971. This is a very high honor for scientists.
• In 1983, he received the Royal Medal for his important research on things like queueing theory and mathematical genetics.
• He also won the Berwick Prize in 1967 and the Guy Medal in silver in 1981.

Family Life

Sir John Kingman married Valerie Cromwell in 1964. They had two children, including John Oliver Frank Kingman. Lady Kingman passed away in 2018.