| Authorised form of name | Gregorie; James (1638 - 1675); mathematician |
| Other forms of surname | Gregory |
| Dates | 1638 - 1675 |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| British |
| Place of birth | Drumoak manse, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Europe |
| Date of birth | November 1638 |
| Place of death | Edinburgh, Scotland, Europe |
| Date of death | October 1675 |
| Occupation | Mathematician; astronomer |
| Research field | Mathematics |
| Optics |
| Astronomy |
| Activity | Education:
Aberdeen Grammar School; Marischal College, Aberdeen; Padua (1664-1667)
Career:
Professor of Mathematics, St Andrews University (1668-1674); Professor of Mathematics, Edinburgh University (1674-1675); died of apoplexy |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 11/06/1668 |
| Age at election | 29 |
| Proposer | John Collins |
| Other Royal Society activity | Acted as an occasional correspondent to the Society, especially to John Collins on series of expanson and binomial theorem.
Published some papers in the 'Philosophical Transactions', e.g. a response to Hugyens' criticism of Gregory's book. |
| Relationships | Parents: Reverend John Gregorie and Janet Gregorie
Married: Mary Burnet (née Jameson)
Children: three overall, incl. James Gregorie
Additional relatives: grandson John Gregorie (FRS 1756); nephew David Gregorie (FRS 1692) |
| Published works | RCN: 41962
RCN: 41964
RCN: 41961
RCN: 41963 |
| General context | In the epilogue to his first publication, 'Optica promota' (1663), Gregorie described a telescope design based on mirrors instead of lenses - an idea further developed by Isaac Newton (FRS 1672). During his studies in Padua, he became familiar with the ideas of the Galilean school and one of his resulting works, 'Vera circuli et hyperbolae quadratura' (1667), in which Gregorie refutes the possibility of the quadrature of the circle, led to a controversy with Christiaan Huygens (FRS 1663). |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Image | 
|
| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; Hunter; Foster; Innes Smith; ODNB
References:
H W Turnbull and G H Bushnell 'James Gregory 1638-1675' in Record of the Celebrations held in the University Library 5 July 1949 as part of the University of St Andrews James Gregory Tercentenary 1949 pp5-26
William P D Wightman, 'Aberdeen University and the Royal Society' in NR 1954-55 vol 11 pp 145-158
G L'E Turner, 'James Short, FRS, and his Contribution to the Construction of Reflecting Telescopes' in NR 1969 vol 24 pp 91-108
G J Whitrow, 'Newton's Role in the History of Mathematics' in NR 1989 vol 43 pp 71-92
A Rupert Hall and A D C Simpson, 'An Account of the Royal Society's Newton Telescope' in NR 1996 vol 50 pp 1-11
Notes:
Name spelt 'Gregory' in DNB and Hunter; also given as an alternative in R. Both spellings given in DSB. |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/6014298 |
| Royal Society code | NA8395 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| EL/G1/25 | Copy of a letter, from James Gregory to Mr Cotton from Edinburgh | 8 October 1674 |
| EL/G1/22 | Extract of a letter, from James Gregory to Mr [John] Collins | 23 September 1672 |
| EL/G1/23 | Copy of a letter, from James Gregory to Mr [John] Collins | 7 March 1673 |
| CLP/1/19 | Paper, 'De augmento scientiarum mathematicarum' ['On the growth of the mathematical sciences'] by [James Gregorie?] | [17th century] |
| LBO/7/53 | Copy letter from James Gregorie, Edinburgh, to John Collins | 8 October 1674 |
| EL/G1/24 | Letter, from James Gregory [to the Royal Society], dated at St Andrews | 1673 |
| EL/G1/21 | Letter, from James Gregory to John Wallis, dated at London | 26 October 1668 |
| EL/G1/26 | Letter, from James Gregory to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Edinburgh | 25 April 1675 |
| CLP/1/23 | Note, 'An advertisement' by Mr [James] Gregory [Gregorie] | [17th century] |
| CLP/1/22 | Extract, 'An answer to Monsieur Huygens etc' by [James] Gregorie | [1660s] |
| CLP/1/31 | Copy letter, regarding Christian Huygens' work, from [James Gregorie] to the publisher | 1668 |
| CLP/24/27 | Paper, Answer to Antimo Fabri's book 'Opusculum Geometricum' by James Gregorie | 1659 |