Duncan Farquharson Gregory
| Duncan F. Gregory | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Native name | Duncan Farquharson Gregory |
| Born | 13 April 1813 Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Died | February 23, 1844 (aged 30) Canaan Lodge, Edinburgh |
| Academic background | |
| School or tradition | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Academic work | |
| Main interests | Mathematician |
| Notable works | The Mathematical Writings of D. F. Gregory, M.A. |
| Notable ideas | Examples of the Processes of the Differential and Integral Calculus |
| Influenced | George Boole |
Duncan Farquharson Gregory (13 April 1813 – 23 February 1844), a Scottish mathematician, was the youngest son of James Gregory (1753–1821) and Isabella Macleod (1772–1847).
He was born in Aberdeen and originally taught by his mother. In October 1825 he was sent to the Edinburgh Academy, and after two years of study spent a winter at a private academy in Geneva. While there his mathematical talent attracted attention, specifically geometry. On his return to Scotland, he attended classes at the Edinburgh University, working at chemistry, making experiments in polarised light, and advancing in the higher parts of mathematics, guided by Professor Wallace, his mentor. In October 1833 he commenced residence at Trinity College, Cambridge. He earned fifth wrangler in the tripos of 1837. He took the degrees of B.A. in 1838 and M.A. in 1841. He was elected fellow of Trinity College in October 1840.
Initially recognized for his essay The Foundations of Algebra presented to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1838. Upon completing his degrees, he served as Moderator in 1842, examiner through May 1843 and was also appointed assistant tutor. At the suggestion of his friend, Archibald Smith, he founded and was the first editor of the Cambridge Mathematical Journal in November 1837, helped by Robert Leslie Ellis who succeeded him as editor. Many of his articles for the CMJ were collected in The Mathematical Writings of D. F. Gregory, edited by his friend and colleague William Walton. In 1841 he published his Examples of the Processes of the Differential and Integral Calculus, which expanded the earlier work of John Herschel, George Peacock and Charles Babbage to include the mathematics used to describe discontinuities observed in heat transfer explored by the French mathematician Joseph Fourier, and the theory of undulatory light, a topic familiar to him. He was elected a member of the Philological Society 12 May 1843.
...
Wikipedia