Benjamin Robins (170729 July 1751) was a pioneering British scientist, Newtonian mathematician, and military engineer. He wrote an influential treatise on gunnery, for the first time introducing Newtonian science to military men, was an early enthusiast for rifled gun barrels, and his work had substantive influence on the development of artillery during the latter half of the eighteenth century – and directly stimulated the teaching of calculus in military academies.

Early life

Benjamin Robins was born in Bath. His parents were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

in poor circumstances, and as a result, he received very little formal education. Having come to London on the advice of Dr.

Henry Pemberton Henry Pemberton (1694 – 9 March 1771) was an English physician and man of letters. He became Gresham Professor of Physic, and edited the third edition of ''Principia Mathematica''. Life Born in London, he received a general education in ...

(1694–1771), who had recognised Robins's talents, for a time he maintained himself by teaching mathematics, but soon devoted himself to engineering and the study of fortification.

Scientific gunnery

In particular he carried out an extensive series of experiments in gunnery, embodying his results in his famous treatise on ''New Principles of Gunnery'' (1742), which contains a description of his

ballistic pendulum A ballistic pendulum is a device for measuring a bullet's momentum, from which it is possible to calculate the velocity and kinetic energy. Ballistic pendulums have been largely rendered obsolete by modern chronographs, which allow direct measu ...

(see

chronograph A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand and a minute sub-dial; it can be started, stopped, and returned to zero by successive ...

). Robins also made a number of important experiments on the resistance of the air to the motion of projectiles, and on the force of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

, with computation of the velocities thereby communicated to projectiles. He compared the results of his theory with experimental determinations of the ranges of mortars and cannon, and gave practical maxims for the management of

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. He also made observations on the flight of

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

s, and wrote on the advantages of rifled gun barrels. His work on gunnery was translated into German by

Leonhard Euler Leonhard Euler ( , ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in ma ...

, who added a critical commentary of his own. However, the work of Robins still served as an important piece of technical information that helped the later advancement of the Prussian artillery, especially of its improvement in accuracy, a big step forwards that the book turned out to be a shot in the arm of the ambitious

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

who determined to vault the status and power of Prussian artillery to the top among other European armies.

Mathematics

Of less interest nowadays are Robins's more purely mathematical writings, such as his ''Discourse concerning the Nature and Certainty of Sir

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a " natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

's Methods of Fluxions and of Prime and Ultimate Ratios'' (1735), ''A Demonstration of the Eleventh Proposition of Sir Isaac Newton's Treatise of Quadratures'' (Phil. Trans., 1727), and similar works.

Politics

Besides his scientific labours, Robins took an active part in politics. He wrote pamphlets in support of the opposition to Sir Robert Walpole, and was secretary of a committee appointed by the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

to enquire into the conduct of that minister. He also wrote a preface to the ''Report on the Proceedings of the Board of General Officers on their Examination into the Conduct of Lieutenant-General Sir John Cope'', in which he gave an apology for the

battle of Prestonpans The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Jacobite forces, led by the Stuart exile C ...

. In 1749, he was appointed engineer general to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

, and went out to superintend the reconstruction of their

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s. However, his health soon failed, and he died at Fort St David in India. His works were published in two volumes in 1761.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robins, Benjamin 1707 births 1751 deaths People from Bath, Somerset English engineers Ballistics experts 18th-century English people 18th-century English mathematicians Fellows of the Royal Society Recipients of the Copley Medal British East India Company people