Person Whittaker; Sir; Edmund Taylor (1873 - 1956); mathematician and astronomer Whittaker Edmund Taylor Sir mathematician and astronomer 1873 - 1956 British Male Birkdale, Lancashire, England 24 October 1873 18731024 48 George Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom 24 March 1956 19560324 Burial: Mount Vernon Cemetery, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

48 George Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

mathematician and astronomer History of science Astronomy Mathematics Numerical analysis Celestial mechanics Mathematical physics Applied mathematics Education: Taught by his mother (1884); Manchester Grammar School; Trinity College, Cambridge (1892-1895) MA. Career: Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge (1896) remaining there as a teacher (1906); co-founded the series of Cambridge Tracts in Mathematics and Mathematical Physics, an influential series of short volumes designed to introduce the principal elements of specific modern developments (1905); appointed professor of astronomy in the University of Dublin, with the title of royal astronomer of Ireland (1906); elected to the professorship of mathematics at Edinburgh where he taught until his retirement in 1946 and where he achieved the institution of the first mathematical laboratory in Britain, the establishment of a research school, and the development of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society (1912). Honours: Kt 1945 Memberships: FRSE (President 1939–44) Mathematical Association (President 1920–21) British Association (1927) London Mathematical Society (1928–9) Trinity College, Cambridge (Honorary fellow 1949) Pontifical Academy of Sciences (1936) Awards/Medals: Smith Prize 1897 Gunning Prize 1929 De Morgan Medal 1935 Parents: John Whittaker, gentleman, youngest son of the first marriage of Henry Whittaker (1780-1853) of Grindleton near Clitheroe, who was the sixth of the eight sons of Richard Whittaker of Rodhill Gate near Grindleton, and Selina Septima, daughter of Edmund Taylor, who practised as a physician at Middleton, near Manchester. Spouse: Mary Ferguson McNaghten, daughter of the Revd Thomas Boyd, of Cambridge, Scottish secretary of the Religious Tract Society; and granddaughter of Sir Thomas Jamieson Boyd. Children: Three sons and two daughters. Their second son, John McNaghten Whittaker (Jack), was professor of pure mathematics at Liverpool (1933–52) and vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield (1952–65). Contributed to pure mathematics, specifically to the theories of interpolation, of automorphic functions, of potential theory, and of special functions. Wrote numerous philosophical and historical papers and books. Obtained a general solution of Laplace's equation. Royal Society roles: VP 1934-1935 Council 1911–12 and 1933–5 Medals and prizes: Sylvester Medal 1931; Copley Medal 1954 Fellow 11/05/1905 32 Andrew Russell Forsyth; Hrace Darwin; Robert Stawell Ball; James Whitbread Lee Glaisher; Edward John Routh; William Burnside; Ernest William Hobson; Henry rederickF Baker; Percy Alexander MacMahon Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DSB Obituaries: Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1956 vol 2 pp 299-325, plate, by G Temple References: R W Home, 'The Royal Society and the Empire: the colonial and Commonwealth Fellowship. Part 2. After 1847' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 47-84 International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.1956.0021 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Whittaker%2C+Edmund+Taylor RCN R67774 24 Oct 1873 - 24 Mar 1956 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 14/03/2024 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA2270 21/11/2001 Andyg Martind 17/03/2026 RS_NET\VirginiaM Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/17285013 85f8da30-c5b6-4170-bbf5-61dc5448c723