Joshua King (16 January 1798 – 1 September 1857) was the

Lucasian Professor of Mathematics The Lucasian Chair of Mathematics () is a mathematics professorship in the University of Cambridge, England; its holder is known as the Lucasian Professor. The post was founded in 1663 by Henry Lucas (politician), Henry Lucas, who was Cambridge U ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1839 to 1849. He was also the President of

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

, from 1832 until his death and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University from 1833 to 1834.

Education

Educated at Hawkshead Grammar School, Joshua King went first to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

in 1815 but moved to Queens' College in February 1816 as a sizar (i.e. a student receiving some financial assistance), and graduated

Senior Wrangler The Senior Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain". Specifically, it is the person who achiev ...

in 1819.

Career

He was elected a Fellow of the Queens’ in 1820, and served as its president from 1832 to his death – the first person not in holy orders to be so elected. In the university, he was

from 1839, resigning because of ill-health in 1849 having given no lectures and published only one paper. His interests seemingly shifted from mathematics to law and politics, although he declined to stand as

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

candidate for Parliament for either the town or the university. He served on many committees, and was Vice-Chancellor in 1833/34. He died on 1 September 1857 aged 59, and was buried in the antechapel of the college. :

"Joshua King came to Cambridge from Hawkshead Grammar School. It was soon evident that the school had produced someone of importance. He became
Senior Wrangler The Senior Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain". Specifically, it is the person who achiev ...
, and his reputation in Cambridge was immense. It was believed that nothing less than a second Newton had appeared. They expected his work as a mathematician to make an epoch in the science. At an early age he became president of Queens’; later, he was Lucasian Professor. He published nothing; in fact, he did no mathematical work. But as long as he kept his health, he was an active and prominent figure in Cambridge, and he maintained his enormous reputation. When he died, it was felt that the memory of such an extraordinary man should not be permitted to die out, and his papers should be published. So his papers were examined, and nothing whatever worth publishing was found."Queens' College Record 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Joshua Senior Wranglers 19th-century English mathematicians 1798 births 1857 deaths People from Ulverston People educated at Hawkshead Grammar School Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge Presidents of Queens' College, Cambridge Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge Presidents of the Cambridge Philosophical Society