Thomas Heath (classicist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir Thomas Little Heath
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 5 October 1861 Barnetby-le-Wold, North Lincolnshire, England
|
| Died | 16 March 1940 (aged 78) |
| Education | Clifton College |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation |
|
|
Notable work
|
Archimedes: Works The thirteen books of Euclid's Elements (translation) A History of Greek Mathematics (for full list, see below) |
| Spouse(s) | Ada Mary Thomas |
| Children | Geoffrey Thomas Heath Veronica Mary Heath |
| Parent(s) | Samuel Heath Mary Little |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Fellow of the Royal Society |
Sir Thomas Little Heath (born October 5, 1861 – died March 16, 1940) was a very smart British man. He worked for the government as a civil servant. He was also a brilliant mathematician and a classical scholar. This means he studied ancient Greek and Roman history, languages, and cultures.
Heath was also a historian who wrote about old Greek mathematics. He is famous for translating important works by ancient Greek thinkers like Euclid, Apollonius of Perga, Aristarchus of Samos, and Archimedes into English. This helped many people learn about these old ideas. He even enjoyed mountain climbing!
Sir Thomas Heath's Life Story
Thomas Heath was born in a small village called Barnetby-le-Wold in England. His father, Samuel Heath, was a farmer. Thomas was the third of six children.
He went to good schools, including Caistor Grammar School and Clifton College. Later, he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, which is a very famous university. He was excellent at both classical studies (like Greek and Latin) and mathematics.
In 1884, Thomas Heath started working for the British government. He became an Assistant Secretary to the Treasury. This is a very important job that helps manage the country's money. He worked his way up and became a top official, the Joint Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, in 1913. He also checked the government's spending.
He retired in 1926. For his great work, he received special honors. He was made a Knight, which means he could use "Sir" before his name. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1912. This is a big honor for scientists. He also led the Mathematical Association for a time.
In 1914, Thomas Heath married Ada Mary Thomas, who was a musician. They had a son named Geoffrey and a daughter named Veronica. Thomas Heath passed away in Ashtead, Surrey, in 1940.
Sir Thomas Heath's Important Work
Thomas Heath is best known for his work on ancient Greek mathematics. He wrote several books about famous Greek mathematicians. Thanks to his translations, many English-speaking people today can understand the amazing discoveries of Archimedes.
One of his most famous translations was of Archimedes' works. When his book came out in 1897, a very old document called the Archimedes Palimpsest had not been fully studied. This palimpsest was a special old book that had Archimedes' writings hidden underneath other text.
Later, in 1906, a Danish professor found how important the palimpsest was. It contained a lost work by Archimedes called The Method of Mechanical Theorems. This showed how Archimedes used mechanical ideas to figure out math problems. Even though Heath's translation was great, later scholars used new science to find even more hidden parts of the palimpsest.
Books and Translations by Sir Thomas Heath
Here are some of the important books and translations that Sir Thomas Heath worked on:
- Diophantus of Alexandria: a Study in the History of Greek Algebra (1885)
- Apollonius of Perga: Treatise on Conic Sections (1896)
- Archimedes: Works (1897)
- The thirteen books of Euclid's Elements (1908)
- Aristarchus of Samos, the Ancient Copernicus (1913)
- Euclid in Greek, Book I, With Introduction and Notes (1920)
- A History of Greek Mathematics, in two volumes (1921)
- A Manual of Greek Mathematics (1931)
- Greek Astronomy (1932)
- Mathematics in Aristotle (1949)
