Hugh Blackburn
Encyclopedia
Bailie Hugh Blackburn (2 July, 1823, Craigflower, Torryburn
, Fife
– 9 October, 1909, Roshven
, Inverness-shire
) was a Scottish mathematician. A lifelong friend of William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin), and the husband of illustrator Jemima Blackburn
, he was professor of mathematics at the University of Glasgow from 1849 to 1879. He succeeded Thomson's father James
in the Chair of Mathematics.
. His elder brother was the judge Colin Blackburn, Baron Blackburn.
He was educated at Edinburgh Academy
and Eton
before entering Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1840. There he met Thomson, who entered in the same year; he was also a member of the Cambridge Apostles
. During this time he invented the Blackburn pendulum
. In the Mathematical Tripos examinations of 1845 he graduated fifth wrangler, while Thomson graduated second wrangler.
He entered the Inner Temple
in 1847, but was never called to the Bar; his name was withdrawn in 1849, the year in which he became Professor of Mathematics at the University of Glasgow.
He married Jemima Wedderburn (cousin of James Clerk Maxwell
), the daughter of James Wedderburn, Solicitor-General for Scotland.
Torryburn
Torryburn is a village in Scotland, lying on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. It is one of a number of old port communities that have existed on this coast and at one point even served as port for Dunfermline...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
– 9 October, 1909, Roshven
Roshven
Roshven is an estate located on the coast between the Sound of Arisaig and Loch Ailort, in Lochaber, in the council area of Highland, Scotland. Towering above it is Rois-bheinn, the highest hill in the area.-History:...
, Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire
The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland...
) was a Scottish mathematician. A lifelong friend of William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin), and the husband of illustrator Jemima Blackburn
Jemima Blackburn
Jemima Wedderburn Blackburn was a Scottish painter whose work gives us an evocative picture of rural life in 19th-century Scotland. One of the most popular illustrators in Victorian Britain, she illustrated 27 books. Her greatest ornithological achievement was the second edition of her Birds from...
, he was professor of mathematics at the University of Glasgow from 1849 to 1879. He succeeded Thomson's father James
James Thomson (mathematician)
James Thomson was an Irish mathematician, notable for his role in the formation of the thermodynamics school at Glasgow University...
in the Chair of Mathematics.
Life
Hugh Blackburn was brought up at Killearn House, Stirlingshire, the seventh of eight children of the wealthy Glasgow merchant John Blackburn and his wife Rebecca Leslie Gillies, the daughter of a Church of Scotland minister, and a relative of Colin MaclaurinColin Maclaurin
Colin Maclaurin was a Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. The Maclaurin series, a special case of the Taylor series, are named after him....
. His elder brother was the judge Colin Blackburn, Baron Blackburn.
He was educated at Edinburgh Academy
Edinburgh Academy
The Edinburgh Academy is an independent school which was opened in 1824. The original building, in Henderson Row on the northern fringe of the New Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, is now part of the Senior School...
and Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
before entering Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1840. There he met Thomson, who entered in the same year; he was also a member of the Cambridge Apostles
Cambridge Apostles
The Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an intellectual secret society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the first Bishop of Gibraltar....
. During this time he invented the Blackburn pendulum
Blackburn pendulum
A Blackburn pendulum, named after Hugh Blackburn, is a device for illustrating harmonic motion. A bob is suspended from a string that in turn hangs from a V-shaped pair of strings, so that the pendulum oscillates simultaneously in two perpendicular directions with different periods. The bob...
. In the Mathematical Tripos examinations of 1845 he graduated fifth wrangler, while Thomson graduated second wrangler.
He entered the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, 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...
in 1847, but was never called to the Bar; his name was withdrawn in 1849, the year in which he became Professor of Mathematics at the University of Glasgow.
He married Jemima Wedderburn (cousin of James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell of Glenlair was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and optics into a consistent theory...
), the daughter of James Wedderburn, Solicitor-General for Scotland.
Works
- A treatise on trigonometry, London, 1855. Part of the Encyclopedia Metropolitana.
- A short sketch of the constitutional history of the University of Glasgow and of Glasgow College in that University : with remarks on the Universities (Scotland) Bill, 1858
- (ed. with William Thomson ) Sir Isaac NewtonIsaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
's Principia, 1871 - Elements of plane trigonometry for the use of the junior class of mathematics in the University of Glasgow, 1871