John Colson (1680 – 20 January 1760) was an English clergyman, mathematician, and 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
Cambridge University
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 ...
.
Life
John Colson was educated at Lichfield School before becoming an undergraduate at
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
, though he did not take a degree there.
He became a schoolmaster at
Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School in Rochester, and was elected
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1713.
He was Vicar of
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
, Kent from 1724 to 1740.
He relocated to Cambridge and lectured at
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...
.
From 1739 to 1760, he was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. He was also Rector of
Lockington, Yorkshire.
Works
In 1726 he published his "Negativo-Affirmativo Arithmetik" advocating a modified decimal system of numeration. He proposed "reduction
osmall figures" by "throwing all the large figures
out of a given number, and introducing in their room the equivalent small figures
respectively". This method of signifying numbers is now called
signed-digit representation
In mathematical notation for numbers, a signed-digit representation is a positional numeral system with a set of signed digits used to encode the integers.
Signed-digit representation can be used to accomplish fast addition of integers becau ...
.
John Colson translated several of
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...
's works into English, including ''De Methodis Serierum et Fluxionum'' in 1736.
See also
*
Method of Fluxions
*
Witch of Agnesi
Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...
Notes
References
*
*
"A Brief History of The Lucasian Professorship of Mathematics at Cambridge University"– Robert Bruen, Boston College, May 1995
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colson, John
1680 births
1760 deaths
18th-century English mathematicians
Academics of the University of Cambridge
English Anglicans
Lucasian Professors of Mathematics
Fellows of the Royal Society