Person Brouncker; William (c 1620 - 1684); 2nd Viscount Brouncker; mathematician Brouncker William mathematician Brounker c 1620 - 1684 British Male Newcastle Lyons, co. Dublin, Ireland, Europe c 1620 1620000 St James' Street, Westminster, London, England, Europe 5 April 1684 16840405 Burial: Chapel of St Katharine's Hospital, London, England, Europe (14 April 1684)

St James's Street, Westminster, London (-1684)

Mathematician Mathematics Education: Oxford (MD 1646) Career: Published a translation of Descartes' 'Musicae compendium' (1653); MP for Westbury (1660); Chancellor to Catherine, Queen Consort (1662-1684); commissioned and designed a yacht for Charles II (1662); Commissioner of the Admirality (1664-1679); Assistant comptroller to the treasurer of the Admirality (1666-1679; 1681-1684); President of Gresham College (1664-1667); Lord of the Admiralty (1680-1683); Master of St Katharine's Hospital, London (1681-1684) Parents: Sir William Brouncker, 1st Viscount Brouncker, and Winifred Leigh Siblings: Henry Brouncker, 3rd Viscount Brouncker One of Brouncker's most well-known contributions to mathematics is related to the famous problem of the quadrature of the circle. He was moved towards the informal philosophical discussions at Gresham College, out of which the Royal Society grew, through these mathematical contributions and his friendship with John Wallis (FRS 1663). Furthermore, much of his mathematical work concerned itself with calculations of lengths of parabola and cycloid, as well as the quadrature of the hyperbola. Reportedly, Brouncker - not Pell - was the first person to solve Pell's equation, and he continued to work on the generalised continued fraction of pi. During his career at the Admirality, Brouncker developed a close relationship with Samuel Pepys. During the Protectorate and as a royalist himself, Brouncker kept out of public life as much as he could. The viscountcy and barony became extinct with the death of his brother Henry Brouncker in 1688, who was generally not well-liked within society and to whom William Brouncker had left very little in his will. Royal Society roles: PRS 1663-1677 Committee and panels: Committee to consider of Mr Buckland's proposition to plant potatoes through all the parts of England (1662) ; Committee to examine [William] Ball's accounts from Midsumer until St Andrews Day (1663) ; Mechanical Committee (1664-65) ; Committee to consider a way of determining the measure of a degree on the earth (1669) Founder Fellow 28/11/1660 Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; Foster; GEC; Aubrey; ODNB References: Bryden, D J. 1993. 'Magnetic Inclinatory Needles: Approved by the Royal Society?', in Notes and Records, vol. 47, pp. 17-31 Cook, A. 2004. 'Rome and the Royal Society, 1660-1740', in Notes and Records, vol. 58, pp. 3-19 Gribbin, J. 2004. 'The Fellowship' (Penguin Books) Scott J F and Hartley, Sir Harold. 1960. 'William, Viscount Brouncker, PRS (1620-1684)', in Notes and Records, vol. 15, pp. 147-157 Stedall, J A. 'Catching Proteus: the collaborations of Wallis and Brouncker. I. Squaring the circle', in Notes and Records, vol. 54, pp. 293-316 Stedall, J A. 2000. 'Catching Proteus: the collaborations of Wallis and Brouncker. II. Number problems', in Notes and Records, vol. 54, pp. 317-331 Thrower, N J W. 2003. 'Samuel Pepys FRS (1633-1733) and The Royal Society', in Notes and Records, vol. 57, pp. 3-13 Turnbull, G H. 1953. 'Samuel Hartlib's Influence on the Early History of the Royal Society', in notes and Records, vol. 10, pp. 101-130 Notes: Election date given as 22/04/1663 in index to BR, the same date given in R, where Brouncker appears as President and a member of Council named by Second Royal Charter. He was present at the foundation meeting on 28 Nov 1660, which has been entered as his date of election. Biographical info from GEC; Henning says he was son of 1st Viscount and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir John Dauntsey of Bishop's Lavington; married Katherine, daughter of Thomas Moore of Hawkchurch, Devon and had three sons and two daughters Brouncker P0016.jpg ©The Royal Society 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://pictures.royalsociety.org/results?mi_search_type=adv&mi_adv_search=yes&adv_person_id=AUTH1235 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-9721 c 1620 - 5 Apr 1684 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 16/11/2021 as part of Name Authority Project update. NA3503 21/11/2001 Andyg pmab 27/08/2025 RS_NET\VirginiaM Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/77098447 a199c086-2ffc-429c-ab22-ff54ef725980