William Lax
Encyclopedia
William Lax AM FRS (1761 – 29 October 1836) was an English astronomer and mathematician.
Lax was born in Ravensworth
, North Riding of Yorkshire
, England, the son of William and Helen Lax. He was educated at the local grammar school
at Kirby Hill
. He entered Trinity College
, Cambridge University in 1780 at the age of 19 as a sizar
. He graduated B.A.
in 1785 as the Senior Wrangler and first Smith's prizeman
of his year and in 1786 was elected a fellow
of Trinity College. He was ordained as a minister
in 1787 and received his M.A. in 1788. He was made a moderator in 1790.
He was Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry
for thirty nine years from 1795 until his death in 1836. During Lax's tenure a mathematical chair was seen as "a prize or a means of securing leisure, and at best, merely as offering a position where a man could pursue his own researches undisturbed by other duties". He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1796 to which he delivered two papers. However due to a personal enmity of the President Joseph Banks
, friends of the mathematician Charles Hutton
such as Lax often saw their works overlooked. He was an assistant tutor from 1797 until 1801. During his tenure at the university he "never, as far as is known, delivered a single lecture" during his forty years at there, despite the bequest
of the Lowndean chair the the holder must give forty lectures each year, nor does he seem to have taught.
During Lax's time at Cambridge: "the mathematicians were in the saddle, and it would be difficult to dispute the judgement that they controlled Cambridge studies almost as completely as the logicians had done in the Middle Ages." Each year the top two students would be tested to compete for the places of Senior Wrangler and Second Wrangler. William Gooch, who was Second Wrangler in 1791 questions Lax's impartiality in the examinations towards Daniel Mitford Peacock, who would be made Senior Wrangler. Peacock was of the same college as Lax. Whilst not disputing that Peacock was the greater candidate, Gooch felt that Lax attempted to make the difference between the two seem greater than it really was. He wrote: "I've been shamefully us'd by Lax to-day;—Tho' his anxiety for Peacock must (of course) be very great, I never suspected that his Partially [sic] would get the better of his Justice."
In his 1809 philosophical treatise On A Method of Examining the Divisions of Astronomical Instruments Lax wrote that no instrument was to be trusted without "previous examination". This argument had an influence on scientists such as Henry Cavendish
. Among other works Lax also published a set of tables for use with the Nautical Almanac
, for finding latitude and longitude; these were published by the Board of Longitude
in 1834, however they were not considered to be of practical use for seamen.
Lax was granted the livings as vicar of Marsworth
, Buckinghamshire
and of St Ippolyts
, Hertfordshire
from 1801 to 1836, where he erected a small observatory which he had transported from Cambridge and had originally belonged to Isaac Newton
. He was a member of the Board of Longitude from 1818 until 1828. One of his closest friends was the barrister
John Bell
. In 1829 he sent a letter of approval to George Biddell Airy
following his first publication.
An obituary in The Gentleman's Magazine
claimed that "his constitution was broken in early life [which] made his last years a period of weakness and suffering, so that his physical strength was unequal to the workings of his active mind. To whatever Professor Lax applied, he made himself completely master of it...[a] most excellent and amiable man." He left behind a widow and two daughters, the eldest of which, Margaret, married Andrew Amos
in 1826, and via that line Lax is the grandfather of Sheldon Amos
.
Lax was born in Ravensworth
Ravensworth
Ravensworth is a small village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north-west of Richmond and from Darlington. It is situated in the Holmedale valley and is in the ward of Gilling West...
, North Riding of Yorkshire
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...
, England, the son of William and Helen Lax. He was educated at the local grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
at Kirby Hill
Kirby Hill, Richmondshire
Kirby Hill is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It has a population of around 60. It is notable for its large medieval parish church of St Peter and St Felix which is a Grade I listed building. It was built in 1397, on the site of a Saxon church...
. He entered Trinity College
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...
, Cambridge University in 1780 at the age of 19 as a sizar
Sizar
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is a student who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined job....
. He graduated B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1785 as the Senior Wrangler and first Smith's prizeman
Smith's Prize
The Smith's Prize was the name of each of two prizes awarded annually to two research students in theoretical Physics, mathematics and applied mathematics at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England.- History :...
of his year and in 1786 was elected a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of Trinity College. He was ordained as a minister
Minister
Minister can mean several things:* Minister , a Christian who ministers in some way* Minister , the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador* Minister , a politician who heads a ministry...
in 1787 and received his M.A. in 1788. He was made a moderator in 1790.
He was Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry
Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry
The Lowndean chair of Astronomy and Geometry is one of the two major Professorships in Astronomy at Cambridge University, alongside the Plumian Professorship...
for thirty nine years from 1795 until his death in 1836. During Lax's tenure a mathematical chair was seen as "a prize or a means of securing leisure, and at best, merely as offering a position where a man could pursue his own researches undisturbed by other duties". He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1796 to which he delivered two papers. However due to a personal enmity of the President Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
, friends of the mathematician Charles Hutton
Charles Hutton
Charles 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...
such as Lax often saw their works overlooked. He was an assistant tutor from 1797 until 1801. During his tenure at the university he "never, as far as is known, delivered a single lecture" during his forty years at there, despite the bequest
Bequest
A bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."...
of the Lowndean chair the the holder must give forty lectures each year, nor does he seem to have taught.
During Lax's time at Cambridge: "the mathematicians were in the saddle, and it would be difficult to dispute the judgement that they controlled Cambridge studies almost as completely as the logicians had done in the Middle Ages." Each year the top two students would be tested to compete for the places of Senior Wrangler and Second Wrangler. William Gooch, who was Second Wrangler in 1791 questions Lax's impartiality in the examinations towards Daniel Mitford Peacock, who would be made Senior Wrangler. Peacock was of the same college as Lax. Whilst not disputing that Peacock was the greater candidate, Gooch felt that Lax attempted to make the difference between the two seem greater than it really was. He wrote: "I've been shamefully us'd by Lax to-day;—Tho' his anxiety for Peacock must (of course) be very great, I never suspected that his Partially [sic] would get the better of his Justice."
In his 1809 philosophical treatise On A Method of Examining the Divisions of Astronomical Instruments Lax wrote that no instrument was to be trusted without "previous examination". This argument had an influence on scientists such as Henry Cavendish
Henry Cavendish
Henry Cavendish FRS was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper "On Factitious Airs". Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and...
. Among other works Lax also published a set of tables for use with the Nautical Almanac
Nautical Almanac
Nautical Almanac can refer to:* Nautical almanac - a publication describing the positions and movements of celestial bodies* American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac - first published in 1852* U.S...
, for finding latitude and longitude; these were published by the Board of Longitude
Board of Longitude
The Board of Longitude was the popular name for the Commissioners for the Discovery of the Longitude at Sea. It was a British Government body formed in 1714 to administer a scheme of prizes intended to encourage innovators to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea.-Origins:Navigators and...
in 1834, however they were not considered to be of practical use for seamen.
Lax was granted the livings as vicar of Marsworth
Marsworth
Marsworth is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about two miles north of Tring, in Hertfordshire and six miles east of Aylesbury.-Early history:...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
and of St Ippolyts
St Ippolyts
St Ippolyts is a village and civil parish on the southern edge of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has a population of approximately 2,000.-Geography:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
from 1801 to 1836, where he erected a small observatory which he had transported from Cambridge and had originally belonged to Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir 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."...
. He was a member of the Board of Longitude from 1818 until 1828. One of his closest friends was the barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
John Bell
John Bell (barrister)
John Bell was an English barrister and equity lawyer.Born in Kendal, Westmoreland, Bell was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating senior wrangler in 1786 and becoming a fellow. He entered Gray's Inn in 1789, a pupil of Samuel Romilly, and was called to the bar in 1792...
. In 1829 he sent a letter of approval to George Biddell Airy
George Biddell Airy
Sir George Biddell Airy PRS KCB was an English mathematician and astronomer, Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881...
following his first publication.
An obituary in The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term "magazine" for a periodical...
claimed that "his constitution was broken in early life [which] made his last years a period of weakness and suffering, so that his physical strength was unequal to the workings of his active mind. To whatever Professor Lax applied, he made himself completely master of it...[a] most excellent and amiable man." He left behind a widow and two daughters, the eldest of which, Margaret, married Andrew Amos
Andrew Amos (lawyer)
Andrew Amos was a lawyer and professor of law. He was born in 1791 in India, where his father, James Amos, a Russian merchant, of Devonshire Square, London, who had travelled there, had married Cornelia Bonté, daughter of a Swiss general officer in the Dutch service. The family was Scottish, and...
in 1826, and via that line Lax is the grandfather of Sheldon Amos
Sheldon Amos
Sheldon Amos was an English juristSheldon Amos was the son of Andrew Amos. He was educated at Clare College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar as a member of the Middle Temple in 1862. He was invited by F. D. Maurice to teach at The Working Men's College, with fellow Cambridge graduates and...
.