Thomas Simpson (mathematician)
Thomas Simpson (born August 20, 1710 in Market Bosworth , Leicestershire , † May 14, 1761 ) was an English mathematician .
Life
Simpson was born the son of a simple weaver and initially worked as a weaver himself. He taught himself mathematics through self-study. Around 1725 he moved to Nuneaton, Warwickshire, to work as a math teacher until 1733, where he married in 1730. In 1733 he had to flee to Derby after he or one of his assistants scared a girl during an astrology class by disguising himself as a devil. Between 1733 and 1736 he moved to London, where his daughter Elizabeth was born in 1736 and his son Thomas in 1738.
From 1743 he taught mathematics at the Royal Military Academy in London.
He became known for his work on interpolation and numerical integration . Here Simpson's formula is named after him, which Johannes Kepler had actually set up in a simpler variant in 1615 as Kepler's barrel rule , and is also based on Newton's findings. The abstract form of Newton's method , on the other hand, comes from him and not from Newton. He also dealt with probability theory and error theory .
Fonts
- Treatise of Fluxions (1737), second expanded edition under the title The doctrine and application of fluxions. Volume 1 (1823) , Volume 2 (1750) .
- The Nature and Laws of Chance (1740)
- The Doctrine of Annuities and Reversions (1742)
- Mathematical Dissertation on a Variety of Physical and Analytical Subjects (1743)
- A Treatise of Algebra (1745)
- Elements of Geometry (1747)
- Trigonometry, Plane and Spherical (1748)
- Select Exercises in Mathematics (1752)
- Miscellaneous Tracts on Some Curious Subjects in Mechanics, Physical Astronomy and Special Mathematics (1757)
literature
- Simpson, Thomas . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 25 : Shuválov - Subliminal Self . London 1911, p. 135 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
Web links
- John J. O'Connor, Edmund F. Robertson : Thomas Simpson (mathematician). In: MacTutor History of Mathematics archive .
- WW Rouse Ball: Thomas Simpson (1710-1761) .
- Thomas Simpson
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Simpson, Thomas |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English mathematician |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 20, 1710 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Market Bosworth , Leicestershire |
DATE OF DEATH | May 14, 1761 |
Place of death | Market Bosworth , Leicestershire |