John Purser (1835–1903) was an Irish

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 ...

, who was professor at

Queen's College, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Life and work

Son of John Tertius Purser (1809–1893), the general manager of the well known brewery

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ...

, Purser was educated in a wealthy family, which included artists, as his cousin Sarah Purser, or engineers, as his brother-in-law John Purser Griffith. He was the brother of mathematician Frederick Purser. He studied in

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, graduating BA in mathematics in 1856. The following years Purser was tutor to the children of Lord Rosse, Lawrence and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

. In 1863, he was appointed professor of mathematics at

, he was in place until his retirement in 1901. Purser is much better known as a teacher than as a researcher,, MacTutor History of Mathematics. and he had a good number of notable students, including Sir

Joseph Larmor Sir Joseph Larmor (11 July 1857 – 19 May 1942) was an Irish and British physicist and mathematician who made breakthroughs in the understanding of electricity, dynamics, thermodynamics, and the electron theory of matter. His most influent ...

, theoretical physicist who served as

Lucasian Professor of Mathematics The Lucasian Chair of Mathematics () is a mathematics professorship in the University of Cambridge, England; its holder is known as the Lucasian Professor. The post was founded in 1663 by Henry Lucas, who was Cambridge University's Member of Pa ...

at the University of Cambridge; Charles Parsons, the inventor of the turbine; Sir John Henry MacFarland, who became Chancellor of Melbourne University; and

William McFadden Orr 250px William McFadden Orr, FRS (2 May 1866 – 14 August 1934) was a British and Irish mathematician. He was born in Comber, County Down and educated at Methodist College Belfast and Queen's College, Belfast under John Purser, befor ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Purser, John 19th-century Irish mathematicians 1835 births 1903 deaths