Colin Maclaurin (1698-1746) - Revision history

Pbarnaby: /* Sources */

2014-08-04T15:44:15Z

Sources

Pbarnaby: /* Maclaurin and the '45 */

2014-06-23T11:46:11Z

Maclaurin and the '45

Pbarnaby: /* Maclaurin at Edinburgh University */

2014-06-23T11:43:40Z

Maclaurin at Edinburgh University

Pbarnaby: /* Maclaurin at Edinburgh University */

2014-06-23T11:43:03Z

Maclaurin at Edinburgh University

Pbarnaby: /* Maclaurin at Edinburgh University */

2014-06-23T09:56:18Z

Maclaurin at Edinburgh University

Pbarnaby: /* Maclaurin at Edinburgh University */

2014-06-23T09:56:03Z

Maclaurin at Edinburgh University

Pbarnaby: /* Research and Publications */

2014-06-20T12:36:00Z

Research and Publications

Pbarnaby: /* Maclaurin at Edinburgh University */

2014-06-20T12:35:17Z

Maclaurin at Edinburgh University

Pbarnaby at 12:34, 20 June 2014

2014-06-20T12:34:26Z

Pbarnaby at 12:32, 20 June 2014

2014-06-20T12:32:55Z

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 *[[Sir Alexander Grant]], ''The Story of the University of Edinburgh during its First Three Hundred Years'', 2 vols (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1884)
 *[[John Home (1722-1808)|John Home]], ''The History of the Rebellion in the Year 1745'' (London: T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies, 1802)
-*David Bayne Horne, ''A Short History of the University of Edinburgh, 1556-1889'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1967)
+*David Bayne Horn, ''A Short History of the University of Edinburgh, 1556-1889'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1967)
-*[[Colin Maclaurin (1698-1746)|Colin MacLaurin]], ''The Collected Letters of Colin MacLaurin'', ed. Stella Mills (Nantwich: Shiva, 1982)
+*Colin MacLaurin, ''The Collected Letters of Colin MacLaurin'', ed. Stella Mills (Nantwich: Shiva, 1982)
 *Patrick Murdoch, 'An account of the Life and Writings of the Author', in Colin Maclaurin, ''An Account of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophical Discoveries'' (London: A. Millar and J. Nourse, 1748)
 *Nicholas Phillipson, 'The Making of an Enlightened University', in Robert D. Anderson, Michael Lynch, and Nicholas Phillipson, ''The University of Edinburgh: An Illustrated History'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2003), pp. 51-102.
 *Erik Lars Sageng, 'MacLaurin, Colin (1698–1746)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) [[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/17643], accessed 12 June 2014]
 [[Category:Academics|Maclaurin, Colin]]

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 == Maclaurin and the '45 ==
-In September 1745, as Charles Edward Stuart army advanced upon Edinburgh, Maclaurin volunteered his services as a military engineer to fortify the city walls. When Edinburgh capitulated on 16 September, Maclaurin refused to submit to the Jacobite government, and fled to England, where he took refuge with Thomas Herring, Archbishop of York. He returned to Edinburgh after the Jacobites' departure in November, but caught a severe cold while travelling across snowbound countryside. His health, already undermined by his exertions in fortifying the city, never fully recovered. He continued to dictate the last chapters of his biography of Newton on his death bed. He was tended in his final illness by [[Alexander Monro ''primus'' (1697-1767)]], the first Professor of [[Anatomy]] at Edinburgh University (1720-64) and founder of Edinburgh Medical School. At the first meeting of the [[Senatus Academicus]] after the reopening of Edinburgh University, Monro read two orations in praise of his late friend. (See [[The University and the '45]] for more details.)
+In September 1745, as Charles Edward Stuart army advanced upon Edinburgh, Maclaurin volunteered his services as a military engineer to fortify the city walls. When Edinburgh capitulated on 16 September, Maclaurin refused to submit to the Jacobite government, and fled to England, where he took refuge with Thomas Herring, Archbishop of York. He returned to Edinburgh after the Jacobites' departure in November, but caught a severe cold while travelling across snowbound countryside. His health, already undermined by his exertions in fortifying the city, never fully recovered.(See [[The University and the '45]] for more details.)
 == Research and Publications ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:43, 23 June 2014
Line 19:		Line 19:

	[[Sir Alexander Grant (1826-1884)]], Edinburgh University's most authoritative historian, describes Maclaurin as the 'life and soul' of the university, a man of 'remarkable social qualities', and a prominent figure in the capital's scientific circles. Besides his academic achievements, he was instrumental in persuading Parliament to establish a Ministers' and Professors' Widows' Fund for Scotland.		[[Sir Alexander Grant (1826-1884)]], Edinburgh University's most authoritative historian, describes Maclaurin as the 'life and soul' of the university, a man of 'remarkable social qualities', and a prominent figure in the capital's scientific circles. Besides his academic achievements, he was instrumental in persuading Parliament to establish a Ministers' and Professors' Widows' Fund for Scotland.
−
−	~~In his oration~~

	== Maclaurin and the '45 ==		== Maclaurin and the '45 ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:43, 23 June 2014
Line 19:		Line 19:

	[[Sir Alexander Grant (1826-1884)]], Edinburgh University's most authoritative historian, describes Maclaurin as the 'life and soul' of the university, a man of 'remarkable social qualities', and a prominent figure in the capital's scientific circles. Besides his academic achievements, he was instrumental in persuading Parliament to establish a Ministers' and Professors' Widows' Fund for Scotland.		[[Sir Alexander Grant (1826-1884)]], Edinburgh University's most authoritative historian, describes Maclaurin as the 'life and soul' of the university, a man of 'remarkable social qualities', and a prominent figure in the capital's scientific circles. Besides his academic achievements, he was instrumental in persuading Parliament to establish a Ministers' and Professors' Widows' Fund for Scotland.
		+
		+	In his oration

	== Maclaurin and the '45 ==		== Maclaurin and the '45 ==

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 lecturer on that abstract science that ever I heard. He made mathematics a fashionable study, which was felt afterwards in the war that followed in 1743, when nine-tenths of the engineers of the army were Scottish officers.</blockquote>
-Sir Alexander Grant (1826-1884, Edinburgh University's most authoritative historian, describes Maclaurin as the 'life and soul' of the university, a man of 'remarkable social qualities', and a prominent figure in the capital's scientific circles. Besides his academic achievements, he was instrumental in persuading Parliament to establish a Ministers' and Professors' Widows' Fund for Scotland.
+[[Sir Alexander Grant (1826-1884)]], Edinburgh University's most authoritative historian, describes Maclaurin as the 'life and soul' of the university, a man of 'remarkable social qualities', and a prominent figure in the capital's scientific circles. Besides his academic achievements, he was instrumental in persuading Parliament to establish a Ministers' and Professors' Widows' Fund for Scotland.
 == Maclaurin and the '45 ==

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 == Research and Publications ==
-Maclaurin wrote ''A Treatise of Algebra'' for use in his classes, which was posthumously published and became a popular textbook for the rest of century. After Newton died in 1727 Jon Conduitt (1688-1737) asked Maclaurin to collaborate in the writing of his biography. Conduitt died in 1727, but Maclaurin completed the work on his own. An Account of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophical Discoveries, posthumously published in 1748, has long been recognized as the most authoritative statement of mainstream Newtonianism. At the same time he was working on his magnum opus, ''The Treatise of Fluxions'' (1742), which rests on his faith in Newtonian methodology.
+[[File:IMG 1476.jpg | border | 250 px | right | thumb | Early MS of ''A Treatise of Algebra'' by [[Colin Maclaurin (1698-1746)]], in hand of unidentified amanuensis, [[Library|Edinburgh University Library]] (Gen.75D)]]Maclaurin wrote ''A Treatise of Algebra'' for use in his classes, which was posthumously published and became a popular textbook for the rest of century. After Newton died in 1727 Jon Conduitt (1688-1737) asked Maclaurin to collaborate in the writing of his biography. Conduitt died in 1727, but Maclaurin completed the work on his own. An Account of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophical Discoveries, posthumously published in 1748, has long been recognized as the most authoritative statement of mainstream Newtonianism. At the same time he was working on his magnum opus, ''The Treatise of Fluxions'' (1742), which rests on his faith in Newtonian methodology.
 == Archives ==

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 == Maclaurin at Edinburgh University ==
-[[File:IMG 1472.jpg | border | 250 px | right | thumb | From 'A Collection from Mr. MacLaurin's course of experiments', [[Library|Edinburgh University Library]] (Dc.7.73)
+[[File:IMG 1472.jpg | border | 250 px | right | thumb | From 'A Collection from Mr. MacLaurin's course of experiments', [[Library|Edinburgh University Library]] (Dc.7.73)]]In November 1725, Maclaurin accepted a post at Edinburgh University as joint Professor of [[Mathematics]]. He was effectively deputizing for [[James Gregory (1666-1742)]], who had held the Chair since 1692 and was now too ill to carry out his teaching duties. Gregory, however, would continue to draw a professorial salary until his death, and Maclaurin was only appointed after Isaac Newton offered to pay part of his remuneration. Maclaurin also had to pay Gregory a considerable sum for consenting to his appointment. Gregory then lived very much longer than expected, and Maclaurin was deprived of the full salary until his death in 1742.
 Besides giving a three-year course from elementary to advanced mathematics, Maclaurin's classes at Edinburgh also covered experimental philosophy, surveying, fortification, geography, theory of gunnery, astronomy, and optics. His pupil [[Alexander Carlyle (1722-1805)]] recalls that:

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:32, 20 June 2014
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	[[File:Macl.jpg \| border \| ~~350~~ px \| right \| thumb \| Colin Maclaurin (1698-1746), engraved by Samuel Freeman after Percey (early 19th century), [[Library\|Edinburgh University Library]] (Dc.2.57/3))]]'''Colin Maclaurin (1698-1746)''' was Professor of [[Mathematics]] at Edinburgh University from 1725 to 1746.	+	[[File:Macl.jpg \| border \| 250 px \| right \| thumb \| Colin Maclaurin (1698-1746), engraved by Samuel Freeman after Percey (early 19th century), [[Library\|Edinburgh University Library]] (Dc.2.57/3))]]'''Colin Maclaurin (1698-1746)''' was Professor of [[Mathematics]] at Edinburgh University from 1725 to 1746.

	== Early Life ==		== Early Life ==