Robert J. T. Bell
Encyclopedia
Robert J. T. Bell RSE
(15 January 1876 – 8 September 1963) was a Scottish
mathematician. He held the positions of Professor of Pure and Applied Mathematics and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, at the University of Otago
in Dunedin
, New Zealand
.
, Stirlingshire, Scotland, on the 15 January 1876. The family moving to Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
, Bell was educated at the celebrated Hamilton Academy
school from which he matriculated at the University of Glasgow
, having won a high placement in the university’s Open Bursary Competition. Bell graduated in 1898 as M.A.
(with First Class Honours) in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy.
Appointed a William Ewing Fellow, Bell continued at the university as a tutorial assistant and in 1901 was promoted to junior assistant.
In March 1899 Bell had become a member of Edinburgh Mathematical Society
and from 1911–1920 he served as editor of the Society’s journal, the Proceedings, during which time he also contributed papers such as Note on the axes of a normal section of the enveloping cylinder of a conchoid, presented to the Society’s meeting of 9 January 1914.
On the 6 March 1916, Bell was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh
, his proposers being George Alexander Gibson, Professor of Mathematics, Glasgow
; the physicist Andrew Gray
, Professor of Natural Philosophy, Glasgow
; Robert Alexander Houstoun, and Diarmid Noel Paton, Regius Professor
of Physiology, Glasgow (and eldest son of the artist Sir Joseph Noel Paton
.)
In 1920 Bell was appointed Professor of Pure and Applied Mathematics at the University of Otago
, Dunedin, New Zealand. At Otago he joined another former pupil of Hamilton Academy
and near contemporary, the physicist Robert Jack
who had also gone on to graduate from Glasgow M.A.
with Honours in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy and who had also been awarded a D.Sc. from Glasgow. Robert Jack had arrived at Otago six years before Bell, in 1914, taking up the appointment as Professor of Physics. Like Robert Jack, Robert Bell went on to serve also as Chairman of the university’s Professorial Board and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science. (Bell also held the positions as a representative member on the Academic Board of the University of New Zealand
and on the University of New Zealand Senate from 1939 to 1946.) These two former Hamilton Academy boys from Scotland were to serve together on the faculty of the University of Otago (until Robert Jack’s retirement in 1947; Bell retiring a year later) in a building built by another former pupil of Hamilton Academy, Robert Forrest of McGill and Forrest, contractors, Dunedin.
1932 LL.D., University of Glasgow
1948 Sc.D., University of Cambridge
1962 LL.D., University of Otago
He died at Dunedin, New Zealand, on the 8 September 1963.
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...
(15 January 1876 – 8 September 1963) was a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
mathematician. He held the positions of Professor of Pure and Applied Mathematics and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, 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...
in 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
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...
.
Early life and career
Robert John Tainsh Bell was born to the Rev. George Bell and Margaret Walker Scott at FalkirkFalkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
, Stirlingshire, Scotland, on the 15 January 1876. The family moving to Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
, Bell was educated at the celebrated Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy was a school situated in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, Hamilton Academy featured in the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association Magazine article series on...
school from which he matriculated at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, having won a high placement in the university’s Open Bursary Competition. Bell graduated in 1898 as M.A.
Master of Arts (Scotland)
A Master of Arts in Scotland can refer to an undergraduate academic degree in humanities and social sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, while the University of...
(with First Class Honours) in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy.
Appointed a William Ewing Fellow, Bell continued at the university as a tutorial assistant and in 1901 was promoted to junior assistant.
Later career
In 1911 Bell was appointed Lecturer in Mathematics and awarded a D.Sc. by the university for his treatise on the geometry of three dimensions, published in book form in 1910 as An Elementary Treatise on Co-ordinate Geometry of Three Dimensions. An instant success, this textbook was to be translated into other languages, including Japanese and three of the languages of the Indian sub-continent. The textbook ran to a third edition (1944) and, from 1938, chapters 1–9 were issued separately as Co-ordinate Solid Geometry. It has since been reprinted (BiblioBazaar, 2009.)In March 1899 Bell had become a member of Edinburgh Mathematical Society
Edinburgh Mathematical Society
The Edinburgh Mathematical Society is the leading mathematical society in Scotland.The Society was founded in 1883 by a group of Edinburgh schoolteachers and academics, on the initiative of A. Y. Fraser and A. J. G. Barclay, teachers at George Watson's College and Cargill Gilston Knott, who was the...
and from 1911–1920 he served as editor of the Society’s journal, the Proceedings, during which time he also contributed papers such as Note on the axes of a normal section of the enveloping cylinder of a conchoid, presented to the Society’s meeting of 9 January 1914.
On the 6 March 1916, Bell was elected to 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...
, his proposers being George Alexander Gibson, Professor of Mathematics, Glasgow
Professor of Mathematics, Glasgow
The Chair of Mathematics in the University of Glasgow was established in 1691. Previously, under James VI's Nova Erectio, the teaching of Mathematics had been the responsibility of the Regents.- List of Mathematics Professors :...
; the physicist Andrew Gray
Andrew Gray (physicist)
Andrew Gray was a Scottish physicist and mathematician.Born in Lochgelly, Fife, the son of John Gray, he was educated at Lochgelly School and studied at the University of Glasgow , where he was appointed the Eglinton Fellow in Mathematics in 1876...
, Professor of Natural Philosophy, Glasgow
Professor of Natural Philosophy, Glasgow
The Chair of Natural Philosophy is a professorship at the University of Glasgow which was established in 1727The Nova Erectio of King James VI of Scotland shared the teaching of Moral Philosophy, Logic and Natural Philosophy among the Regents....
; Robert Alexander Houstoun, and Diarmid Noel Paton, Regius Professor
Regius Professor
Regius Professorships are "royal" professorships at the ancient universities of the United Kingdom and Ireland - namely Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dublin. Each of the chairs was created by a monarch, and each appointment, save those at Dublin, is approved by the...
of Physiology, Glasgow (and eldest son of the artist Sir Joseph Noel Paton
Joseph Noel Paton
Sir Joseph Noel Paton FRSA, LL. D. was a Scottish artist, born in Wooer's Alley, Dunfermline, Fife.Born to a family of weavers who worked with damask, Joseph continued the family trade for a short time...
.)
In 1920 Bell was appointed Professor of Pure and Applied Mathematics 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...
, Dunedin, New Zealand. At Otago he joined another former pupil of Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy was a school situated in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, Hamilton Academy featured in the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association Magazine article series on...
and near contemporary, the physicist Robert Jack
Robert Jack (physicist)
Robert Jack was a Scottish-born physicist, professor and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Otago, and pioneer of radio broadcasting, New Zealand.- Early life and education :...
who had also gone on to graduate from Glasgow M.A.
Master of Arts (Scotland)
A Master of Arts in Scotland can refer to an undergraduate academic degree in humanities and social sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, while the University of...
with Honours in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy and who had also been awarded a D.Sc. from Glasgow. Robert Jack had arrived at Otago six years before Bell, in 1914, taking up the appointment as Professor of Physics. Like Robert Jack, Robert Bell went on to serve also as Chairman of the university’s Professorial Board and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science. (Bell also held the positions as a representative member on the Academic Board of the University of New Zealand
University of New Zealand
The University of New Zealand was the New Zealand university from 1870 to 1961. It was the sole New Zealand university, having a federal structure embracing several constituent colleges at various locations around New Zealand...
and on the University of New Zealand Senate from 1939 to 1946.) These two former Hamilton Academy boys from Scotland were to serve together on the faculty of the University of Otago (until Robert Jack’s retirement in 1947; Bell retiring a year later) in a building built by another former pupil of Hamilton Academy, Robert Forrest of McGill and Forrest, contractors, Dunedin.
Awards
Robert Bell received three honorary degrees during his career:1932 LL.D., University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
1948 Sc.D., University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
1962 LL.D., 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...
He died at Dunedin, New Zealand, on the 8 September 1963.