Alexander Craig Aitken (1895-1967) - Revision history

Pbarnaby at 11:19, 10 June 2014

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Sources

GButtars at 05:25, 8 June 2014

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Early Years

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Sources

Pbarnaby at 12:18, 30 May 2014

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Key Dates

Pbarnaby: /* Aitken at Edinburgh University */

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Aitken at Edinburgh University

Pbarnaby: /* Aitken at Edinburgh University */

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Aitken at Edinburgh University

Pbarnaby: /* Aitken at Edinburgh University */

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Aitken at Edinburgh University

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 *1946-1965 - Chair of Pure Mathematics, University of Edinburgh
 *1967 - Death, Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 November
 == Archives ==

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 *1946-1965 - Chair of Pure Mathematics, University of Edinburgh
 *1967 - Death, Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 November
 == Sources ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:25, 8 June 2014
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−	'''Alexander Craig Aitken (1895-1967)''' held the Chair of Pure Mathematics at Edinburgh University from 1946 to 1965.	+	'''Alexander Craig Aitken (1895-1967)''' held the Chair of Pure [[Mathematics]] at Edinburgh University from 1946 to 1965.

	== Early Years ==		== Early Years ==

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 == Early Years ==
-Alexander Craig Aitken was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 1 April 1895, the eldest child of William Aitken and Elizabeth Towers. His grandfather, Alexander Aitken, had emigrated from Lanarkshire, Scotland to Otago in 1868. Aitken's gifts in both mathematics and music were clear from an early age. A talented violinist, Aitken's memory for figures and skills as a calculator became obvious when he assisted his Father in his grocer's shop (in later life, he could recite Pi to one thousand places). He was an exceptional student, winning several class prizes and graduating top of his class at Otago Boys School. In 1913, he was awarded a full scholarship to attend Otago University, studying Mathematics and Languages (Latin and French). His experience of Mathematics at University was unpleasant, although he met his future wife there, Mary Winifred Betts, a brilliant botanist credited with establishing the Botany department at Otago.
+Aitken was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 1 April 1895, the eldest child of William Aitken and Elizabeth Towers. His grandfather, Alexander Aitken, had emigrated from Lanarkshire, Scotland to Otago in 1868. Aitken's gifts in both mathematics and music were clear from an early age. A talented violinist, Aitken's memory for figures and skills as a calculator became obvious when he assisted his Father in his grocer's shop (in later life, he could recite Pi to one thousand places). He was an exceptional student, winning several class prizes and graduating top of his class at Otago Boys School. In 1913, he was awarded a full scholarship to attend Otago University, studying Mathematics and Languages (Latin and French). His experience of Mathematics at University was unpleasant, although he met his future wife there, Mary Winifred Betts, a brilliant botanist credited with establishing the Botany department at Otago.
 Like many of his contemporaries, Aitken's studies were interrupted by World War I, during which he served in France. Aitken was badly injured in the Somme, and was invalided home to New Zealand in 1917. His experiences of war affected him profoundly for the rest of his life, and he recalled them in the highly regarded memoir ''Gallipoli to the Somme'' (1963).

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:19, 30 May 2014
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	*Alexander Craig Aitken, ''To Catch the Spirit: The Memoir of A.C. Aitken'' (Dunedin, N.Z.: University of Otago Press, 1995)		*Alexander Craig Aitken, ''To Catch the Spirit: The Memoir of A.C. Aitken'' (Dunedin, N.Z.: University of Otago Press, 1995)
	*J. M. Whittaker, ‘Aitken, Alexander Craig (1895–1967)’, rev. Anita McConnell, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) [[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30357], accessed 30 May 2014]		*J. M. Whittaker, ‘Aitken, Alexander Craig (1895–1967)’, rev. Anita McConnell, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) [[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30357], accessed 30 May 2014]
		+	[[Category:Academics\|Aitken, Alexander Craig]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:18, 30 May 2014
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		+	'''Alexander Craig Aitken (1895-1967)''' held the Chair of Pure Mathematics at Edinburgh University from 1946 to 1965.

	== Early Years ==		== Early Years ==

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 *1936 - Elected fellow of the Royal Society
 *1936-1946 - Reader in Statistics, University of Edinburgh
-*1946-1965 - Chair of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh
+*1946-1965 - Chair of Pure Mathematics, University of Edinburgh
 *1967 - Death, Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 November
-−
 == Sources ==

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 Weeks of illness followed, though in the course of his treatment, Aitken found the solution to his problem almost instantaneously, and managed to submit his thesis on time. The thesis was awarded the DSc rather than the PhD, an honour which both pleased and surprised Aitken, particularly since his illness had necessitated submitting the thesis hurriedly.
-On the completion of his DSc, Aitken was appointed Lecturer in Actuarial Mathematics at Edinburgh University. In 1936, he was named Reader in Statistics. In 1946, he succeeded Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker in the Chair of Pure Mathematics, where he remained until he retired in 1965. For a short time during World War II, he also worked as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park, though this part of his life remains wrapped in mystery.
+On the completion of his DSc, Aitken was appointed Lecturer in Actuarial Mathematics at Edinburgh University. In 1936, he was named Reader in Statistics. In 1946, he succeeded Whittaker in the Chair of Pure Mathematics, where he remained until he retired in 1965. For a short time during World War II, he also worked as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park, though this part of his life remains wrapped in mystery.
 Aitken befriended [[Walter Ledermann (1911-2009)]] as a visiting student and introduced him to [[Sir Godfrey Hilton Thomson (1881-1955)]], holder of the [[Bell Chair of Education]] at the University of Edinburgh, and Director of Edinburgh Provincial Training Centre (later Moray House College of Education). Thomson employed Ledermann as a mathematical assistant on the Carnegie-funded project that led to his seminal book ''The Factorial Analysis of Human Ability''.

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:16, 30 May 2014
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	On the completion of his DSc, Aitken was appointed Lecturer in Actuarial Mathematics at Edinburgh University. In 1936, he was named Reader in Statistics. In 1946, he succeeded Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker in the Chair of Pure Mathematics , where he remained until he retired in 1965. For a short time during World War II, he also worked as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park, though this part of his life remains wrapped in mystery.		On the completion of his DSc, Aitken was appointed Lecturer in Actuarial Mathematics at Edinburgh University. In 1936, he was named Reader in Statistics. In 1946, he succeeded Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker in the Chair of Pure Mathematics , where he remained until he retired in 1965. For a short time during World War II, he also worked as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park, though this part of his life remains wrapped in mystery.
		+
		+	Aitken befriended [[Walter Ledermann (1911-2009)]] as a visiting student and introduced him to [[Sir Godfrey Hilton Thomson (1881-1955)]], holder of the [[Bell Chair of Education]] at the University of Edinburgh, and Director of Edinburgh Provincial Training Centre (later Moray House College of Education). Thomson employed Ledermann as a mathematical assistant on the Carnegie-funded project that led to his seminal book ''The Factorial Analysis of Human Ability''.

	== Honours and Recognition ==		== Honours and Recognition ==