Henry Atkinson (1781–1829) was a British

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

whose interests extended to economics, engineering, and philosophy. Born in West Harle,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, Atkinson was the son of a schoolmaster who allowed him to take over the teaching at

Bavington Bavington is a civil parish in Northumberland, England. The parish includes the villages of Great Bavington, Little Bavington and Thockrington. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 99 people. The population taken at the 2011 cens ...

School when he was only thirteen. Atkinson subsequently taught at schools in the Northumberland villages of

Belsay Belsay is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The village is about from Ponteland on the A696 road, A696, which links the village with Newcastle upon Tyne and Jedburgh. The population of the civil parish was 436 at the 2001 ...

, Woodburn, and

Stamfordham Stamfordham is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 1,047, rising to 1,185 at the 2011 Census. The place-name ''Stamfordham'' is first attested in the Pipe Rolls for ...

. In 1808, he finally moved to

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, where he continued to teach and began to establish a reputation as a scholar. Atkinson presented papers to the

Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society The Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne (or the ''Lit & Phil'' as it is popularly known) is a historical library in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and the largest independent library outside London. The library is still avai ...

, which he joined in 1809. Among his these were: * ''A new method of extracting the roots of equations of the higher orders'' (1809) * ''An essay on proportion'' (1811) * ''On the difference between the followers of Newton and Leibniz concerning the measure of forces'' (1814) * ''The eclipses of Jupiter's satellites and on the mode of determining the longitude by these means'' (1810) * ''The possibility and … consequences of the lunar origin of meteoric stones'' (1815) Atkinson also published papers in the journal of the

Astronomical Society of London Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...

.Atkinson, H. (1826). An essay on astronomical and other refraction. ''Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, 2'', 137–260. He encountered significant barriers to advancement of his academic career due to his dissenting religious views. He was a leader in the Newcastle Unitarian church and was closely affiliated with its controversial minister, William Turner. Atkinson is buried in St Andrew's churchyard at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

External links

Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Henry 1781 births 1829 deaths 19th-century British astronomers 19th-century English mathematicians Scientists from Northumberland