The Lowndean chair of Astronomy and Geometry is one of the two major Professorships in

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

(alongside the Plumian Professorship) and a major Professorship in Mathematics at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. It was founded in 1749 by Thomas Lowndes, an

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

from Overton in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

. The original bequest stated that the holder must give two courses of twenty lectures each year, one in astronomy, and the other in

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

, and spend at least six weeks making astronomical observations. Originally the holder was elected by a committee consisting of the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

, the Lord President of the Privy Council, the

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

, the

Lord Steward of the Household The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is one of the three Great Officers of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Household of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. He is, by tradition, the first great officer of ...

, and the Lord High Treasurer of the

First Lord of the Treasury The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom. Traditional convention holds that the office of First Lord is held by the Prime Mi ...

. By the 20th century, the electors had changed to comprise the most senior scientists in the United Kingdom: the

President of the Royal Society The president of the Royal Society (PRS), also known as the Royal Society of London, is the elected Head of the Royal Society who presides over meetings of the society's council. After an informal meeting (a lecture) by Christopher Wren at Gres ...

, the President of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

, the

Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the astronomer royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the astronomer royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The Astro ...

, the

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and the Lucasian, Sadleirian, and Plumian Professors. Notwithstanding the title, a professor can be chosen who specializes solely or chiefly in only one, rather than both, of the subjects of astronomy and geometry.

Lowndean Professors

* 1750–1771 Roger Long * 1771–1795 John Smith * 1795–1837

William Lax William Lax (1761 – 29 October 1836) was an English astronomer and mathematician who served as Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry at the University of Cambridge for 41 years. Lax was born in Ravensworth in the North Riding of Yor ...

* 1837–1859

George Peacock George Peacock FRS (9 April 1791 – 8 November 1858) was an English mathematician and Anglican cleric. He founded what has been called the British algebra of logic. Early life Peacock was born on 9 April 1791 at Thornton Hall, Denton, nea ...

* 1859–1892

John Couch Adams John Couch Adams ( ; 5 June 1819 – 21 January 1892) was a British mathematician and astronomer. He was born in Laneast, near Launceston, Cornwall, and died in Cambridge. His most famous achievement was predicting the existence and position o ...

* 1892–1913 Robert Stawell Ball * 1914–1936

H. F. Baker Henry Frederick Baker Royal Society, FRS Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (3 July 1866 – 17 March 1956) was a British mathematician, working mainly in algebraic geometry, but also remembered for contributions to partial differential equations ...

* 1936–1970

W. V. D. Hodge Sir William Vallance Douglas Hodge (; 17 June 1903 – 7 July 1975) was a British mathematician, specifically a geometer. His discovery of far-reaching topological relations between algebraic geometry and differential geometry—an area no ...

* 1970–1989 J. Frank Adams * 1990–1999 Graeme Segal * 2000–2014 Burt Totaro * 2015-present Mihalis Dafermos

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book, title=Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge, chapter=The Lowndean Professorship of Astronomy and Geometry, chapter-url=http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/2008/chapter12-section2.html#heading3-24, at=Statute E, Chapter XXXV, url=http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/2008/statute_e-section35.html, access-date=2011-03-09 Astronomy and Geometry, Lowndean, Cambridge Astronomy and Geometry, Lowndean Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge 1749 establishments in England Physics education in the United Kingdom Astronomy and Geometry, Lowndean, Cambridge Mathematics education in the United Kingdom Astronomy in the United Kingdom