William Loudon Mollison (19 September 1851 – 10 March 1929) was a Scottish mathematician and academic. From 1915 to 1929, he was

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

Early life and education

Mollison was born on 19 September 1851 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, Scotland. He was educated at

Aberdeen Grammar School Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest schools in the ...

, then an all-boys grammar school. He studied mathematics and

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...

at 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 ...

, graduating in 1872 with a first class degree. That year, he was awarded the Ferguson Scholarship by Aberdeen and matriculated into

to continue his mathematical studies. He became a Foundation Scholar in 1873. His private tutor while at Cambridge was

Edward Routh Edward John Routh (; 20 January 18317 June 1907) was an English mathematician, noted as the outstanding coach of students preparing for the Mathematical Tripos examination of the University of Cambridge in its heyday in the middle of the ninet ...

. He graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1876 as the

Second Wrangler At the University of Cambridge in England, a "Wrangler" is a student who gains first-class honours in the Mathematical Tripos competition. The highest-scoring student is the Senior Wrangler, the second highest is the Second Wrangler, and so on ...

Career

On 29 April 1876, Mollison was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

. He was an examiner for the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

between 1876 and 1880. He was a mathematics lecturer at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

from 1877 to 1882, and at Clare College from 1882. In addition to his college teaching, he was a private tutor or "coach" in mathematics. Due to ill health, he moved from teaching a large number of students, privately and through his college, into administration. He was appointed junior tutor of Clare College in 1880, and was made its senior tutor in May 1894. He was elected a member of the

Council of the Senate A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

of the University Of Cambridge in 1892, and appointed Secretary of the General Board of Studies of the University in 1904: he stepped down from both these posts in 1920. He served as ''

locum tenens A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

'' for the then Master (Edward Atkinson) from 1913 to 1915. Mollison was unanimously elected as Atkinson successor as the 38th Master of Clare College, Cambridge in March 1915.

Personal life

Mollison was married to Ellen Mayhew. They had one son and two daughters, one of whom pre-deceased him. His wife died in 1917, and he provided the endowment for the Mayhew Prize, a mathematics prize awarded by the University of Cambridge, in her honour. His son, William Mayhew Mollison, was a distinguished ear, nose and throat surgeon, and his son Patrick Mollison, a noted haematologist. Mollison died on 10 March 1929 in London, England; he was aged 77. His funeral was held at the chapel of Clare College, Cambridge, and he was buried in the

Ascension Parish Burial Ground The Ascension Parish Burial Ground, formerly known as the burial ground for the parish of St Giles and St Peter's, is a cemetery off Huntingdon Road in Cambridge, England. Many notable University of Cambridge academics are buried there, includ ...

alongside his wife.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mollison, William Loudon 1851 births 1929 deaths 20th-century Scottish mathematicians Masters of Clare College, Cambridge People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Second Wranglers