Joseph Proudman
| Joseph Proudman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 December 1888 |
| Died | 26 June 1975 (aged 86) |
| Alma mater |
University of Liverpool Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Known for | Taylor–Proudman theorem |
| Awards |
Fellow of the Royal Society Adams Prize (1922) Alexander Agassiz Medal (1946) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge |
Joseph Proudman (30 December 1888 – 26 June 1975), CBE, FRS was a distinguished British mathematician and oceanographer of international repute. His theoretical studies into the oceanic tides not only "solved practically all the remaining tidal problems which are soluble within the framework of classical hydrodynamics and analytical mathematics" but laid the basis of a tidal prediction service (developed with A. T. Doodson) of great international importance.
Proudman was born at Unsworth, near Bury, Lancashire on 30 December 1888. He attended primary schools at Unsworth and Bold and from 1902 to 1907 he was a pupil-teacher at Farnworth primary school. He augmented his secondary schooling by having extra lessons before school officially started in the morning and also by attending evening classes at Widnes Technical School studying art, mathematics and physiography. He was awarded the Tate Technical Science entrance scholarship and entered the University of Liverpool in 1907. He graduated with first class honours in 1910 winning the Hudson prize for geometry and the Derby scholarship. With this and the award of an entrance exhibition, he had a second brilliant undergraduate career, studying pure and applied mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge where he became a Wrangler with distinction graduating in 1912.
It was his tutor Rev. E. W. Barnes who suggested that Proudman write to Horace Lamb at Manchester for a suitable topic of research. This started him on his studies of the dynamics of tides which was to become his main scientific interest. He returned to Liverpool as a lecturer in 1913, was appointed the first professor of applied mathematics in 1919 and in 1933 transferred to the chair of oceanography to which he brought a change of emphasis from biological to physical oceanography. He held this post until his retirement in 1954. In 1916 Horace Lamb asked Proudman to assist him in preparing a report for the British Association on the state of research on ocean tides. This led Proudman to the idea of founding an institute for research into all aspects of tides, an idea which was brought to fruition in 1919 with the financial aid of the Booth brothers, two Liverpool ship-owners. The University of Liverpool Tidal Institute started its work with Proudman as Honorary Director and A. T. Doodson as Secretary and in a few years acquired a national and international reputation for its tidal prediction services as well as for fundamental research. It is stated that from 1924 up to the 1950s the Institute was responsible for predicting tides for two-thirds of the world. After several changes of name and status the Institute (having amalgamated with the Liverpool Observatory in 1929) is now the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (see external links below).
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