Edmund Taylor Whittaker
| Edmund Taylor Whittaker | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
24 October 1873 Southport, Lancashire |
| Died | 24 March 1956 (aged 82) |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | English |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Academic advisors | |
| Doctoral students | |
| Other notable students |
W. V. D. Hodge Marion Cameron Gray |
| Known for | |
| Notable awards |
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Edmund Taylor Whittaker FRSFRSE (24 October 1873 – 24 March 1956) was an English mathematician who contributed widely to applied mathematics, mathematical physics and the theory of special functions. He had a particular interest in numerical analysis, but also worked on celestial mechanics and the history of physics. Near the end of his career he received the Copley Medal, the most prestigious honorary award in British science. The School of Mathematics of the University of Edinburgh holds The Whittaker Colloquium, a yearly lecture in his honour.
Whittaker was born in Southport, in Lancashire. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge from 1892. He graduated as Second Wrangler in the examination in 1895 and also received the Tyson Medal for Mathematics and Astronomy. In 1896, Whittaker was elected as a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and remained at Cambridge as a teacher until 1906. Between 1906 and 1911 he was the Royal Astronomer of Ireland and professor of astronomy at Trinity College Dublin where he taught mathematical physics. In 1911 Whittaker became professor at the University of Edinburgh and remained there for the rest of his career.
Shortly after coming to Edinburgh, Whittaker established a Mathematical Laboratory, the first enterprise of this kind in Great Britain, and probably one of the first attempts to make numerical analysis an integral part of the university curriculum. It is probable that in starting this new venture, Whittaker was in- fluenced by his work in astronomy, and by his friendship with the great actuaries of the period ; and to the knowledge of the present writer, he regarded the intro- duction of the Mathematical Laboratory course as his most notable contribution to mathematical education. He and his associates, among whom the most out- standing was A. C. Aitken, researched on curve fitting, numerical solution of integral equations, and similar topics ; and his thorough knowledge of the history and practice of numerical analysis found expression in his Calculus of Observations (written in collaboration with G. Robinson) which today, more than thirty years after its appearance, and after two revolutions in numerical computing, is still one of the most important works on the subject.
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