Numa Edward Hartog (20 May 1846 – 19 June 1871) was a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

British

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 attracted attention in 1869 for graduating from

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 ...

Senior Wrangler The Senior Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain". Specifically, it is the person who achiev ...

and

Smith's Prize Smith's Prize was the name of each of two prizes awarded annually to two research students in mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1769. Following the reorganization in 1998, they are now awarded under the names ...

man but as a Jew had not been admitted to a fellowship. Hartog's case led to the passage of the Universities Tests Act of 1871, which removed religious barriers to holding fellowships at Oxford and Cambridge.

Biography

Hartog was born in London on 20 May 1846 to Alfonse Hartog and Marion Moss. He was the elder brother of Cécile, Héléna, Marcus, and Philip Hartog, and the cousin of

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; ; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the S ...

. In his earlier academic career, he attended University College School in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and then

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. At Cambridge, he attended Trinity College. He was a trailblazing figure in overcoming religious obstacles to academic achievement in the UK. For example, when his B.A. was awarded, the words ''In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti'' were omitted. However, he was unable to accept a fellowship due to being unable to subscribe to the required test on account of his religion. Within weeks, Solicitor-General John Coleridge of the

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

government introduced legislation to rectify the situation. The

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

twice rejected bills passed by the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

before finally accepting the Universities Tests Act of 1871; Hartog's testimony before the Lords helped secure its passage. He was a member of the Council of Jews' College and an Honorary Secretary of the Society of Hebrew Literature. Hartog died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

at the age of only 25.

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartog, Numa Edward Senior Wranglers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of University College London People educated at University College School British people of French descent 19th-century British Jews Deaths from smallpox 1846 births 1871 deaths