John Alexander Third (1865–1948) was a Scottish
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
.
Life and work
Third, son of a stonemason, was educated at
Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational private school for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6.
History Background
Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th cent ...
before entering in 1885 in the
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...
where he graduated
D.Sc in 1889, after spending some time studying in
Jena, Germany
Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...
.
[, MacTutor History of Mathematics.] He was appointed rector of
Campbeltown
Campbeltown (; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port.
The 2018 populatio ...
Grammar School and, five years later, in 1895, headmaster of
Spier's School.
Third joined 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 ...
in 1897 and he was an enthusiastic member publishing papers in the ''Proceedings''. He was also president of the society in 1902. He was director of education of
Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
from 1919 until his retirement in 1927.
After his death, his family made a bequest of £150 to found a prize in the Department of Mathematics of the university of Aberdeen.
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Third, John Alexander
1865 births
1948 deaths
19th-century Scottish mathematicians
20th-century Scottish mathematicians
People educated at Robert Gordon's College
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Scottish schoolteachers