George Eason

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". ...

FIMA (1930–1999) was a British mathematician who was a Professor of Mathematics at

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

from 1970 to 1983. He worked on the dynamical theory of elasticity, and wrote papers relating to mathematical solutions of problems of human biology, including heat transfer through skin, the light-scattering effects of blood, and analysis of blood oxygenators.

Life

He was born in

Chesterfield, Derbyshire Chesterfield is a market town, market and industrial town in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is north of Derby and south of Sheffield at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, Rivers Rother and River Hipper, Hipper. In 2011 ...

, England on 15 March 1930, the son of Henry Swindell Eason and Annie Shepherd Warchurst. He was raised in

North Wingfield North Wingfield is a large village and civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district in the county of Derbyshire, England. Located approximately 4½ miles south-east of Chesterfield, and 1 mile north-east of Clay Cross. The population of t ...

and educated at

Clay Cross Clay Cross is a town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. It is a former industrial and mining town, about south of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield. It is directly ...

and in 1941, he won a scholarship to attend Tupton Hall School. In 1948 he won a county scholarship, enabling him to study Mathematics and Physics at

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

under Prof Rudolph Peierls, gaining a BSc in 1951 and MSc in 1952 (the latter technically being the first degree presented by

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

). He received his doctorate (PhD) in 1954. He first worked in the

Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

in Kent as their Scientific Officer. In 1957, he began lecturing in Mathematics at

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

under Prof Albert E. Green, then in 1961 he became Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at

. In 1970 he gained the professorship and stayed there until he retired in 1983. In 1975, 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 William D. Collins,

Ian Sneddon Ian Naismith Sneddon (8 December 1919 Glasgow, Scotland – 4 November 2000 Glasgow, Scotland) was a Scottish mathematician who worked on analysis and applied mathematics. Life Sneddon was born in Glasgow on 8 December 1919, the son of Ma ...

, Norrie Everitt and Peter Ludwig Pauson. He was also a Fellow of the

Institute of Mathematics and its Applications The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) is the UK's chartered professional body for mathematicians and one of the UK's learned societies for mathematics (another being the London Mathematical Society). The IMA aims to advance ...

. In later life he retired to

Aboyne Aboyne (, ) is a village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, River Dee, approximately west of Aberdeen. It has a swimming pool at Aboyne Academy, all-weather tennis cou ...

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 ...

, Scotland and died there on 15 May 1999.

Family and private life

He married twice: first in 1958 to Olive Holdstock; secondly to Esme Burgess. He had two daughters by his first marriage: Ann and Jill. The family then lived in

Balfron Balfron () is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is situated near Endrick Water on the A875 road, 18 miles (29 km) west of Stirling and 16 miles (26 km) north of Glasgow. Although a rural settlement, it lies within ...

. He was a member of the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

of Strathendrick and served as their President for many years, being awarded the

Paul Harris Fellowship Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

for his services to the local community. He was also a keen marathon runner.''The Herald'', Scotland (newspaper) 1 June 1999

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eason, George 1930 births 1999 deaths 20th-century British mathematicians Academics of Newcastle University Academics of the University of Strathclyde Alumni of Keele University Alumni of the University of Birmingham Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People educated at Tupton Hall School People from Aboyne People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire People from North Wingfield