Thomas Stephens Davies
Encyclopedia
Thomas Stephens Davies was a British
mathematician
.
Davies made his earliest communications to the Leeds Correspondent in July 1817 and the Gentleman's Diary for 1819. He subsequently contributed largely to the Gentleman's and Lady's Diary, Clay's Scientific Receptacle, the Monthly Magazine, the Philosophical Magazine, the Bath and Bristol Magazine, and the Mechanics' Magazine. Davies was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries 19 March 1840
Davies's early acquaintance with Dr. William Trail, the author of the Life of Dr. Robert Simson, materially influenced his course of study and made him familiar with the old as well as with the modern professors of geometry
. He became a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
in 1831, and he contributed several original and elaborate papers to its Transactions. He also published Researches on Terrestrial Magnetism in the Philosophical Transactions, Determination of the Law of Resistance to a Projectile in the Mechanics' Magazine, and other papers in the Cambridge and Dublin Mathematical Journal, the Civil Engineer, the Athenæum, the Westminster Review, and Notes and Queries. In April, 1833 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
In 1834, he was appointed one of the mathematical masters in the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
. Among the numerous subjects that engaged his attention were researches on the properties of the trapezium
, Pascal
's hexagramme mystique, Brianchon's theorem, symmetrical properties of plane triangles, and researches into the geometry of three dimensions. His new system of spherical geometry
preserves his name in the list of well-known mathematicians.
His presentation "On the Velocipede" on May 1837 is extant as a manuscript and gives a vivid testimony of the rise and putting down of the draisines aka hobby-horses. He must have been an early hobby-horse rider himself according to that (transcript in The Boneshaker #108(1985) pp. 4–9 and #111(1986) pp. 7–12))
His death, after six years of illness, took place at Broomhall Cottage, Shooter's Hill
, Kent
, on 6 January 1851, when he was in his fifty-seventh year.
Of the above, Solutions of the Principal Questions is the most important work. It is a large octavo of 560 pages, enriched with four thousand solutions on nearly all subjects of mathematical interest and of various degrees of difficulty.
A long catalogue of Davies's writings is printed in the Westminster Review, April 1851, pp. 70–83.
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....
.
Davies made his earliest communications to the Leeds Correspondent in July 1817 and the Gentleman's Diary for 1819. He subsequently contributed largely to the Gentleman's and Lady's Diary, Clay's Scientific Receptacle, the Monthly Magazine, the Philosophical Magazine, the Bath and Bristol Magazine, and the Mechanics' Magazine. Davies was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries 19 March 1840
Davies's early acquaintance with Dr. William Trail, the author of the Life of Dr. Robert Simson, materially influenced his course of study and made him familiar with the old as well as with the modern professors of geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
. He became 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...
in 1831, and he contributed several original and elaborate papers to its Transactions. He also published Researches on Terrestrial Magnetism in the Philosophical Transactions, Determination of the Law of Resistance to a Projectile in the Mechanics' Magazine, and other papers in the Cambridge and Dublin Mathematical Journal, the Civil Engineer, the Athenæum, the Westminster Review, and Notes and Queries. In April, 1833 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
In 1834, he was appointed one of the mathematical masters in the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
. Among the numerous subjects that engaged his attention were researches on the properties of the trapezium
Trapezium
The word trapezium has several meanings:* - a quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides ....
, Pascal
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
's hexagramme mystique, Brianchon's theorem, symmetrical properties of plane triangles, and researches into the geometry of three dimensions. His new system of spherical geometry
Spherical geometry
Spherical geometry is the geometry of the two-dimensional surface of a sphere. It is an example of a geometry which is not Euclidean. Two practical applications of the principles of spherical geometry are to navigation and astronomy....
preserves his name in the list of well-known mathematicians.
His presentation "On the Velocipede" on May 1837 is extant as a manuscript and gives a vivid testimony of the rise and putting down of the draisines aka hobby-horses. He must have been an early hobby-horse rider himself according to that (transcript in The Boneshaker #108(1985) pp. 4–9 and #111(1986) pp. 7–12))
His death, after six years of illness, took place at Broomhall Cottage, Shooter's Hill
Shooter's Hill
Shooter's Hill is a district and electoral ward in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. It lies east of Blackheath and west of Welling, south of Woolwich and north of Eltham...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, on 6 January 1851, when he was in his fifty-seventh year.
Publications
Davies edited the following works:- A Course of Mathematics for the use of the Royal Military Academy, by Charles HuttonCharles HuttonCharles Hutton was an English mathematician.Hutton was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne. He was educated in a school at Jesmond, kept by Mr Ivison, a clergyman of the Church of England...
. The eleventh edition by Olinthus GregoryOlinthus GregoryOlinthus Gilbert Gregory was an English mathematician, author and editor.He was born on 29 January 1774 at Yaxley in Huntingdonshire. Having been educated by Richard Weston, a Leicester botanist, in 1793 he published a treatise, Lessons Astronomical and Philosophical...
, 1837, 2 vols.; the principal alterations, additions, and improvements in this work were made by Davies. - Solutions of the Principal Questions in Dr. Hutton's “Course of Mathematics,” 1840.
- A Course of Mathematics, by C. Hutton, continued by O. Gregory; twelfth edition by T. S. Davies, 1841–1843, 2 vols.
- The Mathematician, ed. by T. S. Davies and others, 1845, 1847, and 1850.
Of the above, Solutions of the Principal Questions is the most important work. It is a large octavo of 560 pages, enriched with four thousand solutions on nearly all subjects of mathematical interest and of various degrees of difficulty.
A long catalogue of Davies's writings is printed in the Westminster Review, April 1851, pp. 70–83.