Samuel Vince FRS (6 April 1749 – 28 November 1821) was an English clergyman, mathematician and astronomer at 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 ...

Life

He was born in Fressingfield. The son of a plasterer, he had laboured with his father up to the age of 12, but came to the attention of a clergyman who saw to it that he entered higher education. Vince was admitted as a

sizar At Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an Undergraduate education, undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in retur ...

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges an ...

in 1771. In 1775 he was

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 Winner of the Smith Prize at Cambridge. Migrating to

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

in 1777, he gained his M.A. in 1778 and was ordained a clergyman in 1779. He was among seven men of that college who subscribed to the Abolition Society in 1787. He was awarded the

Copley Medal The Copley Medal is the most prestigious award of the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, conferred "for sustained, outstanding achievements in any field of science". The award alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the bio ...

in 1780 and was Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at Cambridge from 1796 until his death. He became

Archdeacon of Bedford The Archdeacon of Bedford is an ecclesiastical post in the Church of England Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. Historically the post was in the Diocese of Lincoln, then from 1837 in the Diocese of Ely, England. On 13 April 1914 ...

in 1809, and died in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

Works

As a mathematician, Vince wrote on many aspects of his expertise, including

logarithms In mathematics, the logarithm of a number is the exponent by which another fixed value, the base, must be raised to produce that number. For example, the logarithm of to base is , because is to the rd power: . More generally, if , the ...

and imaginary numbers. His ''Observations on the Theory of the Motion and Resistance of Fluids'' and ''Experiments upon the Resistance of Bodies Moving in Fluids'' had later importance to aviation history. He was also author of the influential ''A Complete System of Astronomy'' (3 vols. 1797–1808). Vince also published the pamphlet ''The Credibility of Christianity Vindicated, In Answer to Mr. Hume's Objections; In Two Discourses Preached Before the University of Cambridge by the Rev. S. Vince''. In this work, Vince made an apology of the Christian religion and, like

Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...

, sought to present rational arguments in favor of the belief in miracles, against

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...

's criticism. A review of this work with direct quotations can be found in '' The British Critic'', Volume 12, 1798.The British Critic, Volume 12
(1798). F. and C. Rivington. pp. 258-263.

References

External links

On the divisions among Christians: A charge, delivered to the clergy of the archdeaconry of Bedford
(1810) *
Royal SocietyJanus (Cambridge library)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vince, Samuel 1749 births 1821 deaths 18th-century English mathematicians 19th-century English mathematicians Archdeacons of Bedford Plumian Professors of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy Recipients of the Copley Medal Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Senior Wranglers 18th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Anglican priests People from Fressingfield