Mathematician:David Gregory
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Mathematician
Scottish mathematician and astronomer.
Professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, Savilian Professor of Astronomy at the University of Oxford.
Commentator on Isaac Newton's Principia.
The nephew of James Gregory, whose papers he inherited.
Nationality
Scottish
History
- Born: 3 June 1659 in Aberdeen, Scotland
- 1671 -- 1675: Studied at Marischal College, part of the University of Aberdeen
- October 1675: Started to study the papers of James Gregory which had been left to David's father
- 1679: Left Scotland for the Continent, particularly the Netherlands and France
- 1681: Visited London where he was invited to attend meetings of the Royal Society
- 1681: Returned to Scotland
- 1681 -- 1683: Lived at Kinnairdy, continued study of James Gregory's papers
- 1683: appointed Professor of Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, as a result of the dismissal of John Young
- 1691: Elected Savilian Professor at the University of Oxford
- 1691: Elected as Fellow of the Royal Society
- 1692: Elected a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford
- 1695: Married Elizabeth Oliphant
- 1704: Moved to London
- 1707: Appointed to position of Master of the Scottish mint (with Isaac Newton's influence)
- Died: 10 October 1708 in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England
Publications
- 1684: Exercitatio Geometria de Dimensione Curvarum
- 1695: Catoptricae et dioptricae sphericae elementa
- 1702: Astronomiae physicae et geometricae elementa (English translation 1715), in which appears a statement of what is now known as the Titius-Bode Law
- 1703: The first ever edition of the collected works of Euclid
Also known as
David Gregory's surname was originally spelt in the Scots manner as Gregorie.
Sources
- 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Gregory, David (1661-1708)
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Gregory, David (1661-1708)