William Jones (mathematician)

William Jones

William Jones (* 1675 in Llanfihangel Tre'r Beirdd , Anglesey , Wales ; † July 1, 1749 in London ) was a Welsh mathematician who in 1706 was one of the first (after William Oughtred ) to use the Greek symbol π (Pi) for the circle number used. However, this designation did not establish itself in science until 1737 with the writings of the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler (1707–1783).

Life

Jones came from a poor family in Anglesey , where his father Siôn Siôr had a farm. He goes to a school for the poor in Llanbabo , where his mathematical talent was noticed. A landowner in the area gave Jones a job with a merchant in London. From 1695 to 1702 he went to sea and gave lessons in mathematics and navigation on ships. With the Royal Navy he also took part in the naval battle at Vigo .

In 1702 he left the Navy to work as a private tutor in mathematics. In the same year he published his first book on Navigation A New Compendium of the Whole Art of Navigation . Among his pupils was Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke , who later became Lord Chancellor of England. An application to the Royal Mathematical School of Christ's Hospital in 1709 failed, although Jones was able to submit recommendations from Isaac Newton and Edmund Halley . This school trained boys ages 11 and up in math and navigation for service in the Navy.

A later student of Jones was George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield . Parker and Yorke helped Jones when he lost his fortune to the bankruptcy of a bank. Jones also lived intermittently in the Parker family castle in Shirburn . Parker also bequeathed his extensive mathematical library to Jones.

Jones was married twice, first to the widow of the merchant he had worked for. In 1731 he married a second time. From this marriage with Mary Nix three children emerged: Mary (* 1736) and William (* 1746), who became famous as an Indologist. Another child died in childhood.

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Although Jones had not attended university and made no contributions to mathematical research, he was in contact with some of the most outstanding mathematicians of his day, notably Isaac Newton . Since 1711 Jones was a member of the Royal Society . For this he became a member of a commission in 1713 that was supposed to clarify the priority dispute between Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz . Jones also published a book based on Newton's notes Analysis per quantitatum series, fluxiones, ac differentias: cum enumeratione linearum tertii ordinis , London 1711.

In his textbook Synopsis palmariorum matheseos: or, A new introduction to the mathematics , London 1706, he used the symbol π (derived from the English perimeter "circumference").

Web links

• John J. O'Connor, Edmund F. Robertson :  William Jones. In: MacTutor History of Mathematics archive .
• Biography Galileo project (English)