Percy John Heawood
Encyclopedia
Percy John Heawood was a British
mathematician
educated at Queen Elizabeth's School, Ipswich
, and Exeter College, Oxford
.
He spent his career at Durham University
, where he was appointed Lecturer in 1885. He was, successively, Censor
of St Cuthbert's Society
between 1897 and 1901 succeeding Frank Byron Jevons
in the role, Senior Proctor of the university from 1901, Professor in 1910 and Vice-Chancellor between 1926 and 1928. He was awarded an OBE, as Honorary Secretary of the Preservation Fund, for his part in raising £120,000 to prevent Durham Castle
from collapsing into the River Wear
.
He devoted essentially his whole working life to the four colour theorem and in 1890 he exposed a flaw in Alfred Kempe
's proof, that had been considered as valid for 11 years. With the four colour theorem being open again he established the five colour theorem instead. The four colour theorem itself was finally established by a computer-based proof in 1976.
Writing in the Journal of the London Mathematical Society, G A Dirac, wrote:
He was fond of country pursuits, and one of his interests, unusual for a mathematician, was Hebrew. His nickname was "Pussy". He was a cousin of the physicist Sir Oliver Lodge.
Durham University awards an annual Heawood Prize to a student graduating in Mathematics whose performance is outstanding in the final year.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
educated at Queen Elizabeth's School, Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, and Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
.
He spent his career at Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
, where he was appointed Lecturer in 1885. He was, successively, Censor
Censor
Censor may refer to:*Censorship, the control of speech and other forms of human expression*Roman censor, a magistrate for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, etc*Cato Censor , Roman statesman...
of St Cuthbert's Society
St Cuthbert's Society
St Cuthbert's Society, colloquially known as Cuth's, is one of sixteen collegiate bodies within the University of Durham. It was founded in 1888 for students who were not attached to the existing colleges...
between 1897 and 1901 succeeding Frank Byron Jevons
Frank Byron Jevons
Frank Byron Jevons was a polymath, academic and administrator of Durham University.-Early life:He was educated at Nottingham High School and Wadham College, Oxford and appointed a lecturer in Classics at Durham in 1882.-Career:...
in the role, Senior Proctor of the university from 1901, Professor in 1910 and Vice-Chancellor between 1926 and 1928. He was awarded an OBE, as Honorary Secretary of the Preservation Fund, for his part in raising £120,000 to prevent Durham Castle
Durham Castle
Durham Castle is a Norman castle in the city of Durham, England, which has been wholly occupied since 1840 by University College, Durham. It is open to the general public to visit, but only through guided tours, since it is in use as a working building and is home to over 100 students...
from collapsing into the River Wear
River Wear
The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...
.
He devoted essentially his whole working life to the four colour theorem and in 1890 he exposed a flaw in Alfred Kempe
Alfred Kempe
Sir Alfred Bray Kempe D.C.L. F.R.S. was a mathematician best known for his work on linkages and the four color theorem....
's proof, that had been considered as valid for 11 years. With the four colour theorem being open again he established the five colour theorem instead. The four colour theorem itself was finally established by a computer-based proof in 1976.
Writing in the Journal of the London Mathematical Society, G A Dirac, wrote:
He was fond of country pursuits, and one of his interests, unusual for a mathematician, was Hebrew. His nickname was "Pussy". He was a cousin of the physicist Sir Oliver Lodge.
Durham University awards an annual Heawood Prize to a student graduating in Mathematics whose performance is outstanding in the final year.
See also
- Heawood conjectureHeawood conjectureIn graph theory, the Heawood conjecture or Ringel–Youngs theorem gives a lower bound for the number of colors that are necessary for graph coloring on a surface of a given genus. It was proven in 1968 by Gerhard Ringel and John W. T. Youngs. One case, the non-orientable Klein bottle, proved an...
- Heawood numberHeawood numberIn mathematics, the Heawood number of a surface is a certain upper bound for the maximal number of colors needed to color any graph embedded in the surface.In 1890 Heawood proved for all surfaces except the sphere that no more than...
- Heawood graphHeawood graphIn the mathematical field of graph theory, the Heawood graph is an undirected graph with 14 vertices and 21 edges, named after Percy John Heawood.-Combinatorial properties:...
- four colour theorem
- five colour theorem