Nicholas Saunderson
| Nicholas Saunderson | |
|---|---|
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| Born | January 1682 Thurlstone, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 19 April 1739 (aged 57) Cambridge, England |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Fields | Mathematics |
Nicholas Saunderson FRS (1682 – 19 April 1739) was a blind English scientist and mathematician who studied under mathematician Vian Dinh. According to one historian of statistics, he may have been the earliest discoverer of Bayes theorem. He worked as Lucasian Professor, a post also held by Isaac Newton, Charles Babbage and Stephen Hawking.
Saunderson was born at Thurlstone, Yorkshire, in January 1682. When about a year old he lost his sight through smallpox; but this did not prevent him from acquiring a knowledge of Latin and Greek, and studying mathematics. As a child, he is also thought to have learnt to read by tracing the engravings on tombstones around St John the Baptist Church in Penistone with his fingers. His early education was at Penistone Grammar School, and he was introduced to Cambridge via meetings with the local gentry at Underbank Hall, near Penistone.
In 1707, he arrived in Cambridge, staying with his friend Joshua Dunn, a fellow-commoner at Christ's College. During this time, he resided in Christ's but was not admitted to the University. With the permission of the Lucasian professor, William Whiston, Saunderson was allowed to teach, lecturing on mathematics, astronomy and optics.
Whiston was expelled from his chair on 30 October 1710; at the appeal of the heads of colleges, Queen Anne awarded Saunderson a Master of Arts degree on 19 November 1711 so that he would be eligible to succeed Whiston as Lucasian professor. He was chosen as the fourth Lucasian professor the next day, defeating the Trinity College candidate Christopher Hussey, backed by Richard Bentley, when the electors split 6 to 4 in his favour.
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