Robert Haldane (mathematician)

Robert Haldane (born January 27, 1772 in Overton, Lecropt, Perthshire , Scotland , † March 9, 1854 in St Andrews ) was a Scottish clergyman and mathematician.

Life

Haldane was born in 1772 to the farmer Robert Haldane and his wife Margaret Kinross in Overton on the Stirlingshire border . After completing school in Dunblane , he attended the University of Glasgow from 1827 . There he took the normal subjects that every student took. He then moved to the University of Edinburgh , where he studied theology . He took a position as a private tutor with the Robinson family at Leddriegreen House in Strathblane and later transferred to the service of Colonel Charles Moray of Abercairnie.

On December 5, 1797, he was admitted as a preacher in the presbytery of Auchterarder . He received no official parish until August 1806, when he was presented to the parish of Drummelzier in the parish of Peebles. He was ordained on March 19, 1807 . Since he had earned a certain reputation as a mathematician, he was appointed Regius Professor of Mathematics at the University of St Andrews after the death of Nicolas Vilant (May 25, 1807) . But since the church controlled the appointment of the professorship, it was his skills in the church and not mathematics that had given him this position. Better mathematicians, including William Wallace and James Ivory , were passed over in his favor . Haldane resigned his service in Drummelzier on October 2, 1809. In 1819 he applied for the mathematics professorship at the University of Edinburgh, which had become vacant after John Leslie moved from mathematics to the chair of natural history . Here he again competed with Wallace and Charles Babbage for the position until Wallace was finally selected.

In 1820, the next opportunity arose for Haldane when the chair of theology, administration of St. Mary's College, and the parish of St. Andrews became available with the death of George Hill. Haldane began his service on September 28, 1820 and left the mathematics professorship. With his new office he also took over the professorship in theology and showed remarkable skills both as a theologian and as an administrator.

On May 17, 1827, Haldane was elected moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland . Although he spent his early years in a progressive environment, he was loyal to conservative church lines. During the unrest that led to the “disruption” of 1843 , he was elected ad interim chairman and was able to help calm the minds. His abilities as a preacher and mediator can be measured by the fact that few members of his parish left the Church during this time.

Haldane was able to convey the same serious involvement that distinguished him as a pastor in the classroom and he was considered a capable teacher and astute theologian. His scientific successes were also considerable, so that he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh .

Haldane died at the age of 83 on March 9, 1854 at St. Mary's College in St. Andrews. He was buried in his church's cemetery. A portrait of Haldane hangs in the entrance hall of St. Andrews University Library.

Books

Haldane published only one work on the living conditions of the poor in St. Andrews.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} J. J. O'Connor and EF Robertson: Robert Haldane. Born: 27 January 1772 in Overton, Lecropt, Perthshire, Scotland Died: 9 March 1854 in St Andrews, Scotland. In: University of St. Andrews website. Retrieved March 5, 2020 .
    
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u} Alexander Hastie Millar: Haldane, Robert (1772-1854) (DNB00). Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 24. In: wikisource. Retrieved March 5, 2020 .