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Sir Thomas Little Heath (; 5 October 1861 – 16 March 1940) was a British civil servant, mathematician, classical scholar, historian of ancient
Greek mathematics Greek mathematics refers to mathematics texts and ideas stemming from the Archaic through the Hellenistic and Roman periods, mostly extant from the 7th century BC to the 4th century AD, around the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean. Greek mathe ...
, translator, and
mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
. He was educated at
Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...
. Heath translated works of
Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...
of Alexandria,
Apollonius of Perga Apollonius of Perga ( grc-gre, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Περγαῖος, Apollṓnios ho Pergaîos; la, Apollonius Pergaeus; ) was an Ancient Greek geometer and astronomer known for his work on conic sections. Beginning from the contributio ...
,
Aristarchus of Samos Aristarchus of Samos (; grc-gre, Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ Σάμιος, ''Aristarkhos ho Samios''; ) was an ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician who presented the first known heliocentric model that placed the Sun at the center of the ...
, and
Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientis ...
of
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...
into English.


Life

Heath was born in Barnetby-le-Wold, Lincolnshire, England,being the third son of a farmer, Samuel Heath. He was educated at Caistor Grammar School and
Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...
before entering
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a 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 college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
, where he was awarded an ScD in 1896 and became an Honorary Fellow in 1920.He got first class honours in both the classical
tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mat ...
and mathematical
tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mat ...
and was the twelfth wrangler in 1882. In 1884 he took the Civil Service examination and became an Assistant Secretary to the Treasury, finally becoming Joint Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and
auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and a ...
of the Civil List in 1913. He held the position till 1919 when he was appointed as the comptroller of the National Debt Office, from which he retired at the end of 1926 because of age limitations. He was honoured for his work in the Civil Service by being appointed Companion of the
Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...
in 1903, Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1909, and Knight Commander of the
Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...
in 1916. He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...
in May 1912. He died in
Ashtead Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on ...
, Surrey. He had married professional musician Ada Mary Thomas in 1914; they had a son, Geoffrey Thomas Heath, and a daughter, Veronica Mary Heath. Heath's son Geoffrey went to Trinity College, Cambridge, before becoming a teacher at
Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...
, and had 6 children.


Work

Heath was distinguished for his work in Greek mathematics and was author of several books on Greek mathematicians. It is primarily through Heath's translations that modern English-speaking readers are aware of what Archimedes did. His translation of the celebrated
Archimedes Palimpsest The Archimedes Palimpsest is a parchment codex palimpsest, originally a Byzantine Greek copy of a compilation of Archimedes and other authors. It contains two works of Archimedes that were thought to have been lost (the '' Ostomachion'' and ...
, however, was based on a transcription that had lacunae, which scholars such as
Reviel Netz Reviel Netz (born January 2, 1968) is an Israeli scholar of the history of pre-modern mathematics, who is currently a professor of classics and of philosophy at Stanford University. Life and work Netz was born January 2, 1968, in Tel Aviv, Isra ...
have been able to fill in to a certain extent, by exploiting scientific methods of imagery not available in Heath's time. When Heath's ''Works of Archimedes'' was published in 1897, the Archimedes Palimpsest had not been extensively explored. Its significance was not recognised until 1906, when it was examined by Danish professor Johan Ludvig Heiberg. The palimpsest contained an extended version of '' Stomachion'', and a treatise entitled '' The Method of Mechanical Theorems'' that had previously been thought lost. These works have been a focus of research by later scholars.


Translations and other works

Note: Only first editions are listed; many of these titles have been reprinted several times. * ''
Diophantus of Alexandria Diophantus of Alexandria ( grc, Διόφαντος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; born probably sometime between AD 200 and 214; died around the age of 84, probably sometime between AD 284 and 298) was an Alexandrian mathematician, who was the aut ...
: a Study in the History of Greek Algebra'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1885) *
Apollonius of Perga Apollonius of Perga ( grc-gre, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Περγαῖος, Apollṓnios ho Pergaîos; la, Apollonius Pergaeus; ) was an Ancient Greek geometer and astronomer known for his work on conic sections. Beginning from the contributio ...
: ''Treatise on Conic Sections'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1896) *
Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientis ...
: ''Works'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1897) * ''The thirteen books of
Euclid's Elements The ''Elements'' ( grc, Στοιχεῖα ''Stoikheîa'') is a mathematical treatise consisting of 13 books attributed to the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt 300 BC. It is a collection of definitions, postu ...
'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1908) * ''
Aristarchus of Samos Aristarchus of Samos (; grc-gre, Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ Σάμιος, ''Aristarkhos ho Samios''; ) was an ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician who presented the first known heliocentric model that placed the Sun at the center of the ...
, the Ancient Copernicus'' Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913) * ''Euclid in Greek, Book I, With Introduction and Notes'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1920) * ''A History of Greek Mathematics,'' in two volumes (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921) * ''A Manual of Greek Mathematics'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1931) * ''Greek Astronomy'' (London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1932) * ''Mathematics in Aristotle'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1949)


Notes


Further reading

*"About the translator: Thomas L. Heath" in ''Euclid's Elements: all thirteen books complete in one volume'' (2002) Green Lion Press. * J.A. Smith, Review of ''A History of Greek Mathematics'', The Classical Review, 37, no. 34 (May – June 1923), 69–71


External links

;Online texts of Heath's books * * * ''A History of Greek Mathematics''
vol. 1vol. 2

''The Works of Archimedes''
*

*


''Diophantus Of Alexandria: A Study In The History Of Greek Algebra''
* ''The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements''
vol. 1vol. 2vol. 3
* ''The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements - Second Edition Revised with Additions''
Vol. 1-3

PDF files of many of Heath's works, including those on Diophantus, Apollonius, etc.
;Excerpts from MacTutor





;About T.L. Heath * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Thomas Little 1861 births 1940 deaths British classical scholars British historians of mathematics Historians of science People educated at Clifton College Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Caistor Grammar School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order 19th-century British mathematicians 20th-century British mathematicians Amateur mathematicians Scholars of ancient Greek literature Euclid