Alexander Aitken
Encyclopedia
Alexander Craig Aitken was one of New Zealand
's greatest mathematicians. He studied for a PhD at the University of Edinburgh
, where his dissertation, "Smoothing of Data", was considered so impressive that he was awarded a DSc
in 1926, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
beforehand in 1925. Aitken took a position at Edinburgh in 1925. He was elected to the Royal Society of London
in 1936 for his work in statistics
, algebra
and numerical analysis
. He won the Thomas Baker Calculus Scholarship in his last year at school.
Aitken was one of the best mental calculator
s known, and had a prodigious memory. He knew the first 1000 digits of
, the 96 recurring digits of 1/97, and memorized the Aeneid
in high school (Otago Boys High School, Dunedin
, New Zealand). Unfortunately, his inability to forget the horrors he witnessed in World War I
led to recurrent depression throughout his life.
He was an accomplished writer, being elected to the Royal Society of Literature
in 1964 in response to the publication of his war memoirs. He was also an excellent musician, being described by Eric Fenby
as the most accomplished amateur musician he had ever known, and was a champion athlete in his younger days.
Through his collaboration with Herbert W. Turnbull on a book on canonical matrices (published in 1932), Aitken acquired an Erdős number
of 6.
An annual "Aitken Prize" is awarded by the New Zealand Mathematical Society for the best student talk at their colloquium. The prize was inaugurated in 1995 at the University of Otago
's Aitken Centenary Conference, a joint mathematics and statistics conference held to remember Aitken a hundred years after his birth.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's greatest mathematicians. He studied for a PhD at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, where his dissertation, "Smoothing of Data", was considered so impressive that he was awarded a DSc
DSC
-in academia:* D.Sc., Doctor of Science* Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine* Dalton State College, Georgia* Daytona State College, Florida* Deep Springs College, California* Dixie State College of Utah...
in 1926, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
beforehand in 1925. Aitken took a position at Edinburgh in 1925. He was elected to the Royal Society of London
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1936 for his work in statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
and numerical analysis
Numerical analysis
Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation for the problems of mathematical analysis ....
. He won the Thomas Baker Calculus Scholarship in his last year at school.
Aitken was one of the best mental calculator
Mental calculator
Mental calculators are people with a prodigious ability in some area of mental calculation, such as multiplying large numbers or factoring large numbers...
s known, and had a prodigious memory. He knew the first 1000 digits of
, the 96 recurring digits of 1/97, and memorized the AeneidAeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
in high school (Otago Boys High School, Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, New Zealand). Unfortunately, his inability to forget the horrors he witnessed in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
led to recurrent depression throughout his life.
He was an accomplished writer, being elected to the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
in 1964 in response to the publication of his war memoirs. He was also an excellent musician, being described by Eric Fenby
Eric Fenby
Eric William Fenby OBE was an English composer and teacher who is best known for being Frederick Delius's amanuensis from 1928 to 1934. He helped Delius realise a number of works that would not otherwise have been forthcoming....
as the most accomplished amateur musician he had ever known, and was a champion athlete in his younger days.
Through his collaboration with Herbert W. Turnbull on a book on canonical matrices (published in 1932), Aitken acquired an Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
of 6.
An annual "Aitken Prize" is awarded by the New Zealand Mathematical Society for the best student talk at their colloquium. The prize was inaugurated in 1995 at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
's Aitken Centenary Conference, a joint mathematics and statistics conference held to remember Aitken a hundred years after his birth.
Notable publications
- A. C. Aitken (1935). "On Least Squares and Linear Combinations of Observations", Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 55, 42–48.
- A. C. Aitken and H. Silverstone (1942). "On the Estimation of Statistical Parameters", Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1942, 61, 186–194.
- A. C. Aitken (1963). Gallipoli to the Somme: Recollections of a New Zealand infantryman. Oxford.
External links
- For Aitken's PhD students see