William Spottiswoode facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Spottiswoode
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| Born | 11 January 1825 London, England
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| Died | 27 June 1883 (aged 58) London, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Laleham Eton College Harrow School Balliol College |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics, physics |
William H. Spottiswoode (born January 11, 1825 – died June 27, 1883) was a very smart English man. He was a mathematician and a physicist. He also worked in a printing and publishing company called Eyre & Spottiswoode. From 1878 to 1883, he was the president of the Royal Society, a famous group for scientists.
Contents
About William Spottiswoode
His Early Life and Education
William Spottiswoode was born in London, England, on January 11, 1825. His father, Andrew Spottiswoode, came from an old Scottish family. His father was also a partner in a printing business.
William went to several schools, including Laleham Lea School, Eton College, and Harrow School. He then studied Mathematics and Physics at Balliol College in Oxford. He was very good at science from a young age. Once, he even caused a small explosion while doing an experiment for fun! This happened when he was still at Eton.
At Harrow, he won a special scholarship in 1842. At Oxford, he earned top honors in mathematics in 1845. He also won two university mathematical scholarships in 1846 and 1847.
His Family Life
On November 27, 1861, William Spottiswoode married Elisa ("Lise") Taylor Arbuthnot. They got married in Bexley, Kent.
They had two sons: William Hugh Spottiswoode (born 1864) and Cyril Andrew Spottiswoode (born 1867).
William Spottiswoode's Career
Joining the Family Business
In 1846, William left Oxford to join his father's printing business. He worked there for the rest of his life. Even though he was busy with the business, he still found time for science.
In 1847, he published his first original mathematical work. It was a series of five small books called Meditationes analyticae. After that, he published new mathematical research almost every year.
Travels and New Interests
William Spottiswoode also loved to travel. In 1856, he traveled through eastern Russia. In 1860, he visited Croatia and Hungary. He even wrote a book about his trip to Russia, called A Tarantasse Journey through Eastern Russia in the Autumn of 1856.
In 1870, he became the president of the London Mathematical Society. This shows how respected he was in the world of mathematics.
Exploring Physics
Around 1871, William started to focus on experimental physics. He studied how light behaves, especially something called light polarization. He also looked into how electricity acts in very thin gases. He wrote a popular book about light polarization in 1874.
His scientific leadership grew even more. In 1878, he became the president of the British Association. In the same year, he was also elected president of the Royal Society. He had been a member of the Royal Society since 1853.
His Death and Legacy
William Spottiswoode passed away in London on June 27, 1883. He was buried in a famous church called Westminster Abbey.
As a mathematician, he worked on many different areas. He was especially interested in advanced algebra and how to use math to understand geometry and mechanics. He was known for his amazing skill with mathematical symbols and his love for symmetry in math.
One of his most important works was about something called "determinants" in mathematics. He wrote the first easy-to-understand book on this topic in 1851. This book helped many other mathematicians learn about determinants. He published over 100 scientific papers in various journals.
See also
