Edmund Wingate
Encyclopedia
Edmund Wingate was an English
mathematical and legal writer, one of the first to publish in the 1620s on the principle of the slide rule
, and later the author of some popular expository works. He was also a Member of Parliament during the Interregnum
.
in Bedfordshire
and of his wife Jane, daughter of Henry Birch, he was born at Flamborough
in Yorkshire in 1596 and baptised there on 11 June. He matriculated from The Queen's College, Oxford
, on 12 October 1610, graduated B.A. on 30 June 1614, and was admitted to Gray's Inn
on 24 May.
Before 1624 he went to Paris, where he became teacher of the English language to the Princess Henrietta Maria. He had learned in England the "rule of proportion" (logarithmic scale
) recently invented by Edmund Gunter
which he communicated to mathematicians in Paris. He rushed into print to obtain priority, an advocate in Dijon to whom he had shown the rule in a friendly manner having already begun to make some public use of it.
He was in England on the breaking out of the First English Civil War
, sided with the parliament, took the solemn League and Covenant
, and was made justice of the peace
for Bedfordshire. He was then residing at Woodend in the parish of Harlington
. In 1650 he took the engagement
, became intimate with Oliver Cromwell
, and one of the commissioners for the ejection of ignorant and scandalous ministers. He represented Bedfordshire
in the parliament of 1654–5. He died in Gray's Inn Lane, and was buried in St. Andrew's, Holborn, on 13 December 1656. He left no will. Administration was granted to his son, Button Wingate, on 28 January 1657.
In 1640 he published an edition of Britton
. In this he made corrections from some better manuscript than that used in the 1530 publication, but placed them in an appendix, reprinting the text in its corrupt form. He supplied an entire chapter (lib. iv. chap. 5) which had previously been omitted, placing it also in the appendix. He also edited the works of Samuel Foster
, and Anthony Wood
assigns to him a work entitled ‘Tactometria … or the Geometry of Regulars,’ which might be a republication of John Wyberd's book, which appeared under the same title in 1650.
, Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Richard Button of Wootton in Bedfordshire, by whom he had five sons and two daughters.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
mathematical and legal writer, one of the first to publish in the 1620s on the principle of the slide rule
Slide rule
The slide rule, also known colloquially as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer. The slide rule is used primarily for multiplication and division, and also for functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry, but is not normally used for addition or subtraction.Slide rules come in a...
, and later the author of some popular expository works. He was also a Member of Parliament during the Interregnum
Interregnum
An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...
.
Life
The second son of Roger Wingate of SharpenhoeSharpenhoe
Sharpenhoe is a small village in Bedfordshire, England, at the foot of the hills known as the Sharpenhoe Clappers, which are within the Chilterns AONB.- Transport :...
in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
and of his wife Jane, daughter of Henry Birch, he was born at Flamborough
Flamborough
Flamborough is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north east of Bridlington town centre on the prominent coastal feature of Flamborough Head. The most prominent man-made feature of the area is Flamborough lighthouse. The headland...
in Yorkshire in 1596 and baptised there on 11 June. He matriculated from The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its 18th-century architecture...
, on 12 October 1610, graduated B.A. on 30 June 1614, and was admitted to Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
on 24 May.
Before 1624 he went to Paris, where he became teacher of the English language to the Princess Henrietta Maria. He had learned in England the "rule of proportion" (logarithmic scale
Logarithmic scale
A logarithmic scale is a scale of measurement using the logarithm of a physical quantity instead of the quantity itself.A simple example is a chart whose vertical axis increments are labeled 1, 10, 100, 1000, instead of 1, 2, 3, 4...
) recently invented by Edmund Gunter
Edmund Gunter
Edmund Gunter , English mathematician, of Welsh descent, was born in Hertfordshire in 1581.He was educated at Westminster School, and in 1599 was elected a student of Christ Church, Oxford. He took orders, became a preacher in 1614, and in 1615 proceeded to the degree of bachelor in divinity...
which he communicated to mathematicians in Paris. He rushed into print to obtain priority, an advocate in Dijon to whom he had shown the rule in a friendly manner having already begun to make some public use of it.
He was in England on the breaking out of the First English Civil War
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...
, sided with the parliament, took the solemn League and Covenant
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. It was agreed to in 1643, during the First English Civil War....
, and was made justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Bedfordshire. He was then residing at Woodend in the parish of Harlington
Harlington, Bedfordshire
Harlington is a village and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England, near the M1 motorway. The nearest town is Flitwick about three miles to the north...
. In 1650 he took the engagement
Engagement controversy
The Engagement Controversy was a debate in England from 1649-1652 regarding loyalty to the new regime after the execution of Charles I. During this period hundreds of pamphlets were published in England supporting 'engagement' to the new regime or denying the right of English citizens to shift...
, became intimate with Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, and one of the commissioners for the ejection of ignorant and scandalous ministers. He represented Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Bedfordshire was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency, which elected two Members of Parliament from 1295 until 1885, when it was divided into two constituencies under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.-History:...
in the parliament of 1654–5. He died in Gray's Inn Lane, and was buried in St. Andrew's, Holborn, on 13 December 1656. He left no will. Administration was granted to his son, Button Wingate, on 28 January 1657.
Works
His publications, which were numerous, include:- ‘L'usage de la règle de proportion en arithmétique,’ Paris, 1624; in English as ‘The Use of the Rule of Proportion,’ London, 1626, 1628, 1645, 1658, 1683 (rectified by Brown and Atkinson).
- ‘Arithmetique Logarithmetique,’ Paris, 1626. In English as ‘Logarithmotechnia, or the Construction and Use of the Logarithmeticall Tables,’ London, 1635 (compiled from Henry BriggsHenry BriggsHenry Briggs may refer to:*Henry Briggs *Henry Briggs , *Henry Shaw Briggs , Union general in the American Civil War...
). - ‘The Construction and Use of the Line of Proportion,’ London, 1628.
- ‘Of Natural and Artificiall Arithmetique,’ London, 1630, 2 parts. Part i. had been designed ‘onely as a key to open the secrets of the other, which treats of artificial arithmetique performed by logarithms,’ and had therefore not been made sufficiently complete to stand alone as a text-book of elementary arithmetic. This defect was remedied by John Kersey the elderJohn Kersey the elderJohn Kersey the elder was an English mathematician, as well as a textbook writer.-Life:He was son of Anthony Carsaye or Kersey and Alice Fenimore, and was baptised at Bodicote, near Banbury, Oxfordshire, on 23 November 1616. He came to London, and gained a livelihood as a teacher...
under the eye of Wingate, and a second edition appeared in 1650 as ‘Arithmetique made easie.’ Wingate himself re-edited part ii., which was published in 1652 as ‘Arithmetique made easie. The second book.’ The first book ran through many editions, the expression ‘natural arithmetic’ being discarded for that of ‘common arithmetic,’ London, 1658, 1673 (6th edit.); 1678 (7th edit.); 1683 (8th edit. and the last edited by Kersey the elder); 1699 (10th edit. edited by Kersey the younger); 1704 (11th edit. with new supplement by George Shelley); 1708, 1713, 1720, 1753 (edited by James DodsonJames DodsonJames Dodson FRS was a British mathematician, actuary and innovator in the insurance industry.-Life:Matthew Maty, in his Mémoire sur la vie et sur les écrits de M. A. de Moivre, wrote that Dodson was a pupil of Abraham de Moivre. He worked as an accountant and teacher...
), and 1760. - ‘Statuta Pacis: or a Perfect Table of all the Statutes (now in force) which any way concern the office of a Justice of the Peace,’ London, 1641, 1644 (under the initials ‘E. W.’).
- ‘An Exact Abridgment of all the Statutes in force and use from the beginning of Magna Carta,’ London, 1642, 1655, 1663 (continued by William Hughes), 1670, 1675, 1680, 1681, 1684, 1694, 1703, 1704, 1708.
- ‘Justice Revived: being the whole office of a country Justice of the Peace,’ London, 1644, 1661 (under initials ‘E. W.’).
- ‘Ludus Mathematicus,’ London, 1654, 1681. The book is the description of an obscure logarithmic instrument (under initials ‘E. W.’).
- ‘The Body of the Common Law of England,’ London, 1655 (2nd edit.), 1658, 1662, 1670, 1678.
- ‘The Use of a Gauge-rod,’ London, 1658.
- ‘Maximes of Reason,’ London, 1658.
- ‘The Clarks Tutor for Arithmetick and Writing … being the remains of Edmund Wingate,’ London, 1671, 1676.
- ‘The Exact Constable with his Original and Power in the Office of Churchwardens,’ London, 1660 (2nd edit.), 1682 (6th edit.) (under initials ‘E. W.’).
- 'Mathematische Calculatie by Dirck Rembrantsz van Nierop and Edmund Wingate (French translation) 1659 Amsterdam at the Harvard University of Cambridge Massachusetts United States
In 1640 he published an edition of Britton
Britton (law)
Britton is the earliest summary of the law of England in the French tongue, which purports to have been written by command of King Edward I.The origin and authorship of the work have been much disputed. It has been attributed to John le Breton, bishop of Hereford, on the authority of a passage...
. In this he made corrections from some better manuscript than that used in the 1530 publication, but placed them in an appendix, reprinting the text in its corrupt form. He supplied an entire chapter (lib. iv. chap. 5) which had previously been omitted, placing it also in the appendix. He also edited the works of Samuel Foster
Samuel Foster
Samuel Foster was an English mathematician and astronomer. He made several observations of eclipses, both of the sun and moon, at Gresham College and in other places; and he was known particularly for inventing and improving planetary instruments...
, and Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood or Anthony à Wood was an English antiquary.-Early life:Anthony Wood was the fourth son of Thomas Wood , BCL of Oxford, where Anthony was born...
assigns to him a work entitled ‘Tactometria … or the Geometry of Regulars,’ which might be a republication of John Wyberd's book, which appeared under the same title in 1650.
Family
Wingate married, on 28 July 1628, at MauldenMaulden
Maulden is a small village and civil parish located in the county of Bedfordshire, in the administrative area of Central Bedfordshire, in the newly created Maulden And Houghton Conquest Ward. An active Parish Council meets monthly- the clerk is Lynda Galler . The village is located 1.5 miles east...
, Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Richard Button of Wootton in Bedfordshire, by whom he had five sons and two daughters.