Edmund Whittaker (1873 - 1956) - Biography - MacTutor History of Mathematics

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The name Whittaker comes from the farm High Whitacre, near Padiham in Lancashire, where the family lived from <span class="non-italic">1236</span>. Edmund Whittaker's mother was Selina Septima Taylor and his father was John Whittaker, a man of independent means from Birkdale who was wealthy enough not to need an occupation. Selina's father was Edmund Taylor, who was a medical doctor with a practice in Middleton near Manchester. Selina and John named their son Edmund Taylor Whittaker, giving him both a forename and a middle name from his maternal grandfather. Edmund Whittaker's mother played an important role in his education, being his only teacher until he reached the age of eleven. <br/> <br/> He was educated at Manchester Grammar School, entering at the age of eleven, and at first he concentrated on classics but as he progressed through the school he was happy to specialise in mathematics. From there he went up to Trinity College, Cambridge in <span class="non-italic">1892</span> where he held a scholarship. He was taught as an undergraduate by, among others, <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Darwin/popup/" href="../Darwin/">G H Darwin</a> and <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Forsyth/popup/" href="../Forsyth/">A R Forsyth</a>. His interests at this time were on the applied side of mathematics which is certainly illustrated by the fact that, in <span class="non-italic">1894</span>, he was awarded the Sheepshanks Exhibition in Astronomy. Whittaker graduated as Second <a class="gllink" data-popup="../../Glossary/wrangler/" href="../../Glossary/#wrangler">Wrangler</a> in the examination of <span class="non-italic">1895</span>, and was awarded the Tyson Medal. He was beaten into second place in the Mathematical Tripos examinations by <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Bromwich/popup/" href="../Bromwich/">Bromwich</a>. Whittaker was elected as a fellow of Trinity College in <span class="non-italic">1896</span> and became first Smith's prizeman in <span class="non-italic">1897</span> for a work on pure mathematics, namely on uniform functions. <br/> <br/> After Whittaker became a Fellow of Trinity College he began to teach and give lecture courses and, among his first pupils were <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Hardy/popup/" href="../Hardy/">G H Hardy</a> and <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Jeans/popup/" href="../Jeans/">J H Jeans</a>. Whittaker made revolutionary changes to the topics taught at Cambridge. He taught a course based on his famous book <em>A Course of Modern Analysis</em> <span class="non-italic">(1902)</span>. This work is important in the study of functions of a complex variable. It also develops the theory of <a class="gllink" data-popup="../../Glossary/special_function/" href="../../Glossary/#special_function">special functions</a> and their related <a class="gllink" data-popup="../../Glossary/differential_equation/" href="../../Glossary/#differential_equation">differential equations</a>. Other courses Whittaker taught at Cambridge included astronomy, geometrical optics, and electricity and magnetism. <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Hardy/popup/" href="../Hardy/">Hardy</a> and <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Jeans/popup/" href="../Jeans/">Jeans</a> were not the only famous mathematicians which Whitttaker taught at Cambridge. His pupils included <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Bateman/popup/" href="../Bateman/">Bateman</a>, <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Eddington/popup/" href="../Eddington/">Eddington</a>, <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Littlewood/popup/" href="../Littlewood/">Littlewood</a>, <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Turnbull/popup/" href="../Turnbull/">Turnbull</a>, and <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Watson/popup/" href="../Watson/">Watson</a>. <br/> <br/> The Rev Thomas Boyd lived in Cambridge and was the Scottish Secretary of the Religious Tract Society. Whittaker married his daughter, Mary Ferguson McNaghten Boyd, in <span class="non-italic">1901</span>. They had three sons and two daughters. The middle son from the three was <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Whittaker_John/popup/" href="../Whittaker_John/">John Whittaker</a> who went on to become a famous mathematician and also has a biography in this archive. The eldest of their two daughters was Beatrice Mary Whittaker, who later married <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Copson/popup/" href="../Copson/">Copson</a>. <br/> <br/> Whittaker's interest in astronomy is illustrated by the courses he taught, but he also joined the <a class="aclink" href="../../Societies/Astronomical/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal Astronomical Society</a> serving as its secretary from <span class="non-italic">1901</span> to <span class="non-italic">1906</span>. He became the Royal Astronomer of Ireland in <span class="non-italic">1906</span> and moved to Dunsink Observatory where <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Hamilton/popup/" href="../Hamilton/">Hamilton</a> had worked. He was at the same time appointed as Professor of Astronomy at the University of Dublin. The Observatory was not well equipped and his appointment as Royal Astronomer was more to teach mathematical physics at the University than to undertake observational astronomy. <br/> <br/> <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Chrystal/popup/" href="../Chrystal/">George Chrystal</a>, the professor at Edinburgh, died in November <span class="non-italic">1911</span> and in the following year Whittaker took up the chair in Edinburgh where he remained for the rest of his career. In fact he reached retirement age in <span class="non-italic">1943</span> but due to World War II he agreed to carry on for a further three years. Soon after he arrived in Edinburgh, Whittaker set up the Edinburgh Mathematical Laboratory to give a practical side to his interest in numerical analysis. His many lecture courses on this topic were collected into a book which he published in <span class="non-italic">1924</span> <em>The Calculus of Observations: a treatise on numerical mathematics</em>. <br/> <br/> Whittaker's best known work is in analysis, in particular numerical analysis, but he also worked on celestial mechanics and the history of applied mathematics and physics. He wrote papers on algebraic functions and automorphic functions. He found expressions for the <a class="gllink" data-popup="../../Glossary/bessel_function/" href="../../Glossary/#bessel_function">Bessel functions</a> as integrals involving <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Legendre/popup/" href="../Legendre/">Legendre</a> functions. He studied these special functions as arising from the solution of differential equations derived from the <a class="gllink" data-popup="../../Glossary/hypergeometric_function/" href="../../Glossary/#hypergeometric_function">hypergeometric equation</a>. <br/> <br/> His results in <a class="gllink" data-popup="../../Glossary/partial_diff_equation/" href="../../Glossary/#partial_diff_equation">partial differential equations</a> <span class="non-italic">(</span>described as 'most sensational' by <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Watson/popup/" href="../Watson/">Watson</a><span class="non-italic">)</span> included a general solution of the <a class="gllink" data-popup="../../Glossary/laplaces_equation/" href="../../Glossary/#laplaces_equation">Laplace equation</a> in three dimensions in a particular form and the solution of the wave equation. This work was of fundamental importance for it united various strands of potential theory making it into a unified topic. The unification came in the form of bringing together different special functions, as mentioned above, and exhibiting them all as special cases of what became known as a 'Whittaker integral'. <br/> <br/> On the applied side of mathematics he was interested in relativity theory for many years, publishing at least five articles on the topic. He also worked on electromagnetic theory giving a general solution of <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Maxwell/popup/" href="../Maxwell/">Maxwell</a>'s equation, and it was through this topic that his interest in relativity arose. Another application which interested him came through his association with actuaries in Edinburgh who were dealing with life assurance. This motivated him to study the mathematics lying behind somewhat ad hoc methods that the actuaries were using and Whittaker proved some important results on interpolation as a consequence. <br/> <br/> One of his most important historical studies was <em>A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity, from the Age of Descartes to the Close of the Nineteenth Century</em> <span class="non-italic">(1910)</span>. In <span class="non-italic">1953</span> he produced a revised version including the work of the first quarter of the <span class="non-italic">20</span><span class="superscript">th</span> Century. <br/> <br/> In <span><span class="non-italic">[</span><a class="reference" data-popup='<span class="markup">W H McCrea, Edmund Taylor Whittaker, <em>J. London Math. Soc.</em> <strong><span class="non-italic">32</span></strong> <span class="non-italic">(1957)</span>, <span class="non-italic">234</span>-<span class="non-italic">256</span>.</span>' href="#reference-9"><span class="non-italic">9</span></a><span class="non-italic">]</span></span> <a class="mlink" data-popup="../McCrea/popup/" href="../McCrea/">McCrea</a> describes Whittaker's research lectures which he gave twice a week throughout the whole academic year while he was professor in Edinburgh:- <blockquote>Either he discussed his own current work or he gave his own development of topics of current interest in mathematics. One marvels at the mathematical power that enabled him always, year after year, to have material for these lectures - he never repeated the same ones - just as though he had nothing else to think about, when actually he was inundated with other duties.</blockquote> Whittaker received many honours. He was a member of the <a class="aclink" href="../../Societies/LMS/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">London Mathematical Society</a>, being President in <span class="non-italic">1928</span>-<span class="non-italic">29</span>. He won the <a class="mlink" data-popup="../De_Morgan/popup/" href="../De_Morgan/">De Morgan</a> Medal of the Society in <span class="non-italic">1935</span>. He was elected a Fellow of the <a class="aclink" href="../../Societies/RS/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal Society</a> in <span class="non-italic">1905</span>, served on its Council for two periods, <span class="non-italic">1911</span>-<span class="non-italic">12</span> and <span class="non-italic">1933</span>-<span class="non-italic">35</span>, and he was vice-president during part of this second period on the council from <span class="non-italic">1934</span>-<span class="non-italic">35</span>. He was awarded the Society's <a class="mlink" data-popup="../Sylvester/popup/" href="../Sylvester/">Sylvester</a> Medal in <span class="non-italic">1931</span> and the Copley Medal in <span class="non-italic">1954</span>:- <blockquote>... for his distinguished contributions to both pure and applied mathematics and to theoretical physics.</blockquote> He was knighted in <span class="non-italic">1945</span>. He was a Fellow of the <a class="aclink" href="../../Societies/RSE/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal Society of Edinburgh</a>, awarded the Society's Gunning Prize in <span class="non-italic">1929</span>, and served the Society as President for most of the years of World War II. He was also President of the <a class="aclink" href="../../Societies/MA/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Mathematical Association</a> <span class="non-italic">(1920</span>-<span class="non-italic">21)</span>, and of the Mathematics and Physics section of the <a class="aclink" href="../../Societies/British_Association/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">British Association</a> in <span class="non-italic">1927</span>. He served as secretary to the <a class="aclink" href="../../Societies/Astronomical/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal Astronomical Society</a> from <span class="non-italic">1901</span> to <span class="non-italic">1907</span>. <br/> <br/> Whittaker was a committed Christian and joined the Roman Catholic Church in <span class="non-italic">1930</span>. In this capacity he was awarded the cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in <span class="non-italic">1935</span>, was appointed to the <a class="aclink" href="../../Societies/Pontifical_Academy/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Pontifical Academy of Sciences</a> in the following year <span class="non-italic">(</span>the year of foundation of the Academy by Pope Pius XI<span class="non-italic">)</span>, and was president of the Newman Association from <span class="non-italic">1943</span> to <span class="non-italic">1945</span>. He gave lectures on science and theology such as the Riddell Memorial Lecture on <em>The beginning and end of the world</em> in Dublin in <span class="non-italic">1942</span>, and the Donnellan Lectures on <em>Space and spirit</em> also in Dublin four years later. <br/> <br/> As to Whittaker's character <a class="mlink" data-popup="../McCrea/popup/" href="../McCrea/">McCrea</a> writes in <span><span class="non-italic">[</span><a class="reference" data-popup='<span class="markup">W H McCrea, Edmund Taylor Whittaker, <em>J. London Math. Soc.</em> <strong><span class="non-italic">32</span></strong> <span class="non-italic">(1957)</span>, <span class="non-italic">234</span>-<span class="non-italic">256</span>.</span>' href="#reference-9"><span class="non-italic">9</span></a><span class="non-italic">]</span></span>:- <blockquote>He grasped new ideas with unbelievable rapidity and he had an infallible memory for everything he read. ... He was the most unselfish of men with a delicate sense of what would give help or pleasure to others. Always he seemed to have his vast number of friends at the tip of his mind so that he never missed an opportunity to do or say something on behalf of any one of them. He had a quick wit and an ever-present sense of humour and liked telling harmlessly mischievous stories about people he had known.</blockquote> In <span><span class="non-italic">[</span><a class="reference" data-popup='<span class="markup">Obituary in <em>The Times</em> <br> <br/> <br> See <a href="../../TimesObituaries/Whittaker.html">THIS LINK</a></span>' href="#reference-3"><span class="non-italic">3</span></a><span class="non-italic">]</span></span> Whittaker is described in these terms:- <blockquote>... he was a brilliant teacher, a master of his subject, with a great love of his fellow men. His warmth and his interest in his friends and students made him the most agreeable of companions. Scholars from abroad who knew him seldom failed to visit him and enjoy his conversation, and the friendships thus founded he kept up by correspondence to all parts of the world.</blockquote> </span> </div> </div> <hr /> <div class="row mt-2"> <div class="col-md-12"> <a href="quotations/" >Quotations by Edmund Whittaker</a > <br /> <a href="../../Countries/England/" >Other Mathematicians born in England</a > <br /> <a href="poster/lived/" >A Poster of Edmund Whittaker</a > </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-12"> <h3>References <span class="nonoscript">(<a href="#" id="references-toggle">show</a>)</span></h3> </div> </div> <div class="row" id="references-list"> <div class="col-md-12"> <ol name="references"> <li id="reference-1"><span class="markup">D Martin, Biography in <em>Dictionary of Scientific Biography</em> <span class="non-italic">(</span>New York <span class="non-italic">1970</span>-<span class="non-italic">1990)</span>. <br/> See <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830904632.html">THIS LINK</a>.</span></li> <li id="reference-2"><span class="markup">Biography in <em>Encyclopaedia Britannica.</em> <br/> <a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Edmund-Taylor-Whittaker">http://www.britannica.com/biography/Edmund-Taylor-Whittaker</a></span></li> <li id="reference-3"><span class="markup">Obituary in <em>The Times</em> <br/> See <a href="../../TimesObituaries/Whittaker.html">THIS LINK</a></span></li> <li id="reference-4"><span class="markup">A C Aitken, The contributions of E T Whittaker to algebra and numerical analysis, <em>Proc. Edinburgh Math. Soc.</em> <strong><span class="non-italic">11</span></strong> <span class="non-italic">(1958)</span>, <span class="non-italic">31</span>-<span class="non-italic">38</span>.</span></li> <li id="reference-5"><span class="markup">H Dingle, Edmund T Whittaker, mathematician and historian, <em>Science</em> <strong><span class="non-italic">124</span></strong> <span class="non-italic">(1956)</span>, <span class="non-italic">208</span>-<span class="non-italic">209</span>.</span></li> <li id="reference-6"><span class="markup">A Erd茅lyi, Sir Edmund Whittaker, <span class="non-italic">1873</span>-<span class="non-italic">1956</span>, <em>Math. Tables Aids Comput.</em> <strong><span class="non-italic">11</span></strong> <span class="non-italic">(1957)</span>, <span class="non-italic">53</span>-<span class="non-italic">54</span>.</span></li> <li id="reference-7"><span class="markup">G Julia, Notice n茅crologique sur Sir Edmund Whittaker, <em>C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris</em> <strong><span class="non-italic">242</span></strong> <span class="non-italic">(1956)</span>, <span class="non-italic">2493</span>-<span class="non-italic">2495</span>.</span></li> <li id="reference-8"><span class="markup">D Martin, Sir Edmund Whittaker, F R S, <em>Proc. Edinburgh Math. Soc.</em> <span class="non-italic">11</span> <span class="non-italic">(1958)</span>, <span class="non-italic">1</span>-<span class="non-italic">9</span>.</span></li> <li id="reference-9"><span class="markup">W H McCrea, Edmund Taylor Whittaker, <em>J. London Math. Soc.</em> <strong><span class="non-italic">32</span></strong> <span class="non-italic">(1957)</span>, <span class="non-italic">234</span>-<span class="non-italic">256</span>.</span></li> <li id="reference-10"><span class="markup">R A Rankin, Sir Edmund Whittaker's work on automorphic functions, <em>Proc. Edinburgh Math. Soc.</em> <strong><span class="non-italic">11</span></strong> <span class="non-italic">(1958)</span>, <span class="non-italic">25</span>-<span class="non-italic">30</span>.</span></li> <li id="reference-11"><span class="markup">G F J Temple, Edmund Taylor Whittaker, <em>Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society of London</em> <strong><span class="non-italic">2</span></strong> <span class="non-italic">(1956)</span>, <span class="non-italic">299</span>-<span class="non-italic">325</span>.</span></li> <li id="reference-12"><span class="markup">Whittaker Memorial Volume, <em>Proc. Edinburgh Math. Soc.</em> <strong><span class="non-italic">11</span></strong> <span class="non-italic">(1958)</span>, <span class="non-italic">1</span>-<span class="non-italic">70</span>.</span></li> </ol> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-12"> <h3>Additional Resources <span class="nonoscript">(<a href="#" id="additional-toggle">show</a>)</span></h3> </div> </div> <div class="row" id="additional-list"> <div class="col-md-6"> <p>Other pages about Edmund Whittaker:</p> <ol name="additional"> <li><a href="../../EMS/Pubs/Whittaker/"><span class="markup">Papers in the Proceedings and Notes of the EMS</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Ledermann/chapter-5/"><span class="markup">Walter Ledermann's memoir</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Extras/Whittaker_physics/"><span class="markup">Sir Edmund Whittaker - <em>Physics and Philosophy</em></span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Extras/Whittaker_RSE_Prize/"><span class="markup">Whittaker RSE Gunning Prize</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Extras/Whittaker_retires_EMA/"><span class="markup">Whittaker retires from the EMA</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/ems_teaching/"><span class="markup">The teaching of advanced mathematics in schools</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/ems_Whittaker/"><span class="markup">The Sir Edmund Whittaker Memorial Prize</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Obituaries/Whittaker_EMS_Obituary/"><span class="markup">EMS obituary</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Obituaries/Whittaker_RSE_Obituary/"><span class="markup">RSE obituary</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../TimesObituaries/Whittaker.html"><span class="markup">Times obituary</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Gaz/Whittaker/"><span class="markup">Multiple entries in <em>The Mathematical Gazetteer of the British Isles</em>,</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Extras/Whittaker_maths_logic/"><span class="markup">Mathematics and Logic by E T Whittaker</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Extras/Whittaker_autobiography/"><span class="markup">Edmund Whittaker autobiography</span></a></li> </ol> </div> <div class="col-md-6"> <p>Other websites about Edmund Whittaker:</p> <ol name="otherweb"> <li><a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830904632.html" target="_blank"><span class="markup">Dictionary of Scientific Biography</span></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36880" target="_blank"><span class="markup">Dictionary of National Biography</span></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Edmund-Taylor-Whittaker" target="_blank"><span class="markup">Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath571/kmath571.htm" target="_blank"><span class="markup">Kevin Brown</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../BSHM/Maidment_Whitaker.pdf" target="_blank"><span class="markup">A Maidment & M McCartney <span class="non-italic">(</span><em>A man who has infinite capacity for making things go</em><span class="non-italic">)</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=18571" target="_blank"><span class="markup">Mathematical Genealogy Project</span></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ams.org/mathscinet/MRAuthorID/565106" target="_blank"><span class="markup">MathSciNet Author profile</span></a></li> <li><a href="https://zbmath.org/authors/?q=ai:whittaker.edmund-t" target="_blank"><span class="markup">zbMATH entry</span></a></li> </ol> </div> </div> <hr /> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-12"> <h3> Honours <span class="nonoscript">(<a href="#" id="honours-toggle">show</a>)</span> </h3> </div> </div> <div class="row" id="honours-list"> <div class="col-md-12"> <p>Honours awarded to Edmund Whittaker</p> <ol name="honours"> <li><a href="../../EMS/ems_lecturers#Whittaker"><span class="markup">Lecturer at the EMS</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Honours/FRS/"><span class="markup">Fellow of the Royal Society <span class="non-italic">1905</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Societies/RSE/FRSE/"><span class="markup">Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh <span class="non-italic">1912</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/EMSPresidents/"><span class="markup">EMS President <span class="non-italic">1914</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Honours/MA_presidents/"><span class="markup">Mathematical Association president <span class="non-italic">1919</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Honours/LMSPresidents/"><span class="markup">LMS President <span class="non-italic">1928</span> - <span class="non-italic">1929</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Honours/SylvesterMedal/"><span class="markup">Royal Society Sylvester Medal <span class="non-italic">1931</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Honours/LMSDeMorganMedal/"><span class="markup">LMS De Morgan Medal <span class="non-italic">1935</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/EMSHonorary/"><span class="markup">Honorary Fellow of the Edinburgh Maths Society <span class="non-italic">1937</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Honours/CopleyMedal/"><span class="markup">Royal Society Copley Medal <span class="non-italic">1954</span></span></a></li> </ol> </div> </div> <hr /> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-12"> <h3> Cross-references <span class="nonoscript">(<a href="#" id="xrefs-toggle">show</a>)</span> </h3> </div> </div> <div class="row" id="xrefs-list"> <div class="col-md-12"> <ol name="xrefs"> <li><a href="../../HistTopics/Ledermann_interview/">History Topics: <span class="markup">Ledermann's St Andrews interview</span></a></li> <li><a href="../../HistTopics/EMS_history/">History Topics: <span class="markup">The Edinburgh Mathematical Society <span class="non-italic">1883</span>-<span class="non-italic">1933</span></span></a></li> <li><a href="../../Societies/EMS/">Societies: Edinburgh Mathematical Society</a></li> <li><a href="../../Societies/RSE/">Societies: Edinburgh Royal Society</a></li> <li><a href="../../Societies/Lincei/">Societies: Lincei Accademia</a></li> <li><a href="../../Societies/Pontifical_Academy/">Societies: Pontifical Academy of Sciences</a></li> <li><a href="../../Projects/GowenlockTuminauskaite/chapter-1/">Student Projects: D'Arcy Thompson and Mathematics: Chapter 1</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/EMSWhittakerPrize/">Other: </a></li> <li><a href="../../ICM/ICM_Oslo_1936/">Other: 1936 ICM - Oslo</a></li> <li><a href="../../ICM/ICM_Edinburgh_1958/">Other: 1958 ICM - Edinburgh</a></li> <li><a href="../../Gaz/Cambridge_Colleges/">Other: Cambridge Colleges</a></li> <li><a href="../../Gaz/Cambridge_Individuals/">Other: Cambridge Individuals</a></li> <li><a href="../../Gaz/Cambridge_professorships/">Other: Cambridge professorships</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/photo_1913/">Other: Colloquium photo 1913</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/photo_1926/">Other: Colloquium photo 1926</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/photo_1930/">Other: Colloquium photo 1930</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/photo_1934/">Other: Colloquium photo 1934</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/photo_1938/">Other: Colloquium photo 1938</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/photo_1955/">Other: Colloquium photo 1955</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/EMS_about/">Other: EMS</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/EMSHonorary/">Other: EMS Honorary Members</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/members_1929/">Other: EMS Members</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/EMSPresidents/">Other: EMS Presidents</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/a/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (A)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/c/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (C)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/e/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (E)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/g/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (G)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/h/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (H)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/l/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (L)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/m/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (M)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/n/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (N)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/p/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (P)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/q/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (Q)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/r/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (R)</a></li> <li><a href="../../Miller/mathword/s/">Other: Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (S)</a></li> <li><a href="../../EMS/ems_lecturers/">Other: Edinburgh Mathematical Society Lecturers 1883- 2023</a></li> <li><a href="../../Societies/RSE/FRSE2/">Other: Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh</a></li> <li><a href="../../Gaz/London_Learned_Societies/">Other: London Learned Societies</a></li> </ol> </div> </div> <hr /> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-12"> Written by <span class="markup">J J O'Connor and E F Robertson</span> <br /> Last Update October 2003 </div> </div>  </main>  <footer class="site-footer mt-3 pb-3 pt-3 pt-md-0"> <div class="row"> <div class="cr-footer col-md-4"> DJF/JOC/EFR<br /> <a href="../../Miscellaneous/copyright/" >Copyright information</a ><br /> <a href="../../Miscellaneous/accessibility/" >Accessibility statement</a > </div> <div class="links-footer col-md-6"> <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/mathematics-statistics/" target="_blank" >School of Mathematics and Statistics</a > <br /> <a href="http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/" target="_blank" >University of St Andrews, Scotland</a > </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <img 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Edmund Whittaker (1873 - 1956) - Biography - MacTutor History of Mathematics