Alexander Morgan (mathematician)
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Alexander Morgan PEIS
FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...
OBE LLD (21 August 1860 – 17 March 1946) was a Scottish mathematician and educator. He was President of the
Educational Institute of Scotland The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) is the oldest teachers' trade union in the world, having been founded in 1847 when dominies became concerned about the effect of changes to the system of education in Scotland on their professional s ...
1911/12. He was involved in the creation of the
Education Act 1918 The Education Act 1918 ( 8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. 39), often known as the Fisher Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was drawn up by H. A. L. Fisher. Herbert Lewis, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education, also played ...
.


Life

He was born in
Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
on 21 August 1860 the son of Ann and William Morgan originally from
Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...
. The family returned to
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
during his infancy and he was educated there at the North Parish School. Returning to Edinburgh he initially studied for the ministry at the Church of Scotland Training College but then abandoned this and instead studied mathematics and natural philosophy (physics) at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
graduating with an MA in 1886. On graduating he began lecturing in mathematics at the Church of Scotland Training College, becoming its Principal in 1903. In 1896 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...
. His proposers were
George Chrystal George Chrystal FRSE FRS (8 March 1851 – 3 November 1911) was a Scottish mathematician. He is primarily known for his books on algebra and his studies of seiches (wave patterns in large inland bodies of water) which earned him a Gold Meda ...
,
Simon Somerville Laurie Simon Somerville Laurie FRSE LLD (13 November 1829 – 2 March 1909) was a Scottish educator. He became Bell Professor of Education at Edinburgh University in 1876. He campaigned energetically and successfully for better teacher training in Sco ...
,
John Sturgeon Mackay John Sturgeon Mackay FRSE (1843–1914) was a Scottish mathematician and academic author. Life He was born on 22 October 1843 at Auchencairn near Kirkcudbright the son of John Mackay and his wife Jessie Sturgeon. The family moved to Perth earl ...
and
Peter Guthrie Tait Peter Guthrie Tait (28 April 18314 July 1901) was a Scottish Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook ''Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he ...
. He was President of the
Edinburgh Mathematical Society The Edinburgh Mathematical Society is a mathematical society for academics in Scotland. History The Society was founded in 1883 by a group of Edinburgh school teachers and academics, on the initiative of Alexander Yule Fraser FRSE and Andrew ...
1898/99. In later life in lived at 1 Midmar Gardens in south-west Edinburgh. From 1920 to 1925 he was Director of Studies for the Provincial Training College. He retired in 1925 and died in Edinburgh on 17 March 1946.Scotsman newspaper: obituary, 19 March 1946


Family

In 1888 he married Isobel Duthie (died 1941). They had two sons: General
William Duthie Morgan General Sir William Duthie Morgan, (15 December 1891 – 13 May 1977) was a British Army officer. During the Second World War, he served as Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Harold Alexander, and later succeeded him as Supreme Allied Commander i ...
and Alexander Morgan.


References

1860 births 1946 deaths People from Leith Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish mathematicians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire {{Scotland-academic-bio-stub