E. T. Whittaker

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FRSE
A 1933 portrait of Whittaker by Arthur Trevor Haddon titled Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker
Born(1873-10-24)24 October 1873
Southport, Lancashire, England
Died24 March 1956(1956-03-24) (aged 82)
George Square, Edinburgh, Scotland
NationalityEnglish
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
Known for
SpouseMary Ferguson Macnaghten Boyd
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Academic advisors
Doctoral students
Other notable students

Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker (24 October 1873 – 24 March 1956) was a British mathematician, physicist, and historian of science. Whittaker was a leading mathematical scholar of the early 20th century who contributed widely to applied mathematics and was renowned for his research in mathematical physics and numerical analysis, including the theory of special functions, along with his contributions to astronomy, celestial mechanics, the history of physics, and digital signal processing.

Among the most influential publications in Whittaker's bibliography, he authored several popular reference works in mathematics, physics, and the history of science, including A Course of Modern Analysis (better known as Whittaker and Watson), Analytical Dynamics of Particles and Rigid Bodies, and A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity. Whittaker is also remembered for his role in the relativity priority dispute, as he credited Henri Poincaré and Hendrik Lorentz with developing special relativity in the second volume of his History, a dispute which has lasted several decades, though scientific consensus has remained with Einstein.

Whittaker served as the

Royal Astronomer of Ireland early in his career, a position he held from 1906 through 1912, before moving on to the chair of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh for the next three decades and, towards the end of his career, received the Copley Medal and was knighted. The School of Mathematics of the University of Edinburgh holds The Whittaker Colloquium, a yearly lecture, in his honour and the Edinburgh Mathematical Society promotes an outstanding young Scottish mathematician once every four years with the Sir Edmund Whittaker Memorial Prize
, also given in his honour.

Life

Early life and education

Edmund Taylor Whittaker was born in Southport, in Lancashire, the son of Selina Septima (née Taylor) and John Whittaker.[3] He was described as an "extremely delicate child", necessitating his mother to home school him until he was 11 years old, when he was sent off to Manchester Grammar School.[8] Ernest Barker, a classmate of Whittaker's at the Grammar School with whom he shared the office of prefect, later recalled his personality: "He had a gay, lively, bubbling spirit: he was ready for every prank: he survives in my memory as a natural actor; and I think he could also, on occasion, produce a merry poem."[9] While at the school, Whittaker studied on the "classical side", devoting three-fifths of his time to Latin and Greek.[8] Whittaker struggled with the poetry and drama which was required by the upper school, and expressed gratitude for being allowed to leave these studies behind and specialise in mathematics.[8]

In December 1891 Whittaker received an entrance scholarship to

Cambridge Tripos examination in 1895.[13] The Senior Wrangler that year was Thomas John I'Anson Bromwich and Whittaker tied John Hilton Grace for second, all three along with three other participants, including Bertram Hopkinson, went on to be elected Fellows of the Royal Society.[1] He also received the Tyson Medal for Mathematics and Astronomy in 1896.[14]

Career

Whittaker was a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1896 to 1906 when he was appointed Andrews Professor of Astronomy at Trinity College Dublin and Royal Astronomer of Ireland. He held these posts until 1912, when he was appointed chair of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, a role he went on to hold for just over a third of a century. Throughout his career, he wrote papers on automorphic functions and special functions in pure mathematics as well as on electromagnetism, general relativity, numerical analysis and astronomy in applied mathematics and physics, and was also interested in topics in biography, history, philosophy and theology.[8] He also made several important innovations in Edinburgh that had a large impact on mathematical education and societies there.[15]

Trinity College, Cambridge

In 1896, Whittaker was elected as a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and remained at Cambridge as a teacher until 1906. In 1897, Whittaker was awarded the

Smith Prize for his work on the paper "On the connexion of algebraic functions with automorphic functions", published in 1888.[13]

In 1902, Whittaker found a general solution to

Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England.[17]

Prior to being compelled by a magistrate to repay the tax burden, Whittaker was one of several activists who engaged in passive resistance by refusing to pay the taxes.[17] In 1905, Whittaker was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his achievements.[2]

Trinity College Dublin

In 1906, Whittaker was appointed

Royal Astronomer of Ireland.[2] He succeeded Charles Jasper Joly at the post and was appointed upon recommendation from the astronomer Robert Stawell Ball.[18]

Ball's recommendation, which was published in a collection of his letters in 1915, stated that Whittaker was the only person he knew who could "properly succeed Joly" and that the role would "suit him in every way".[19][18] He then describes Whittaker as "modest" and "charming" and as "a man who has infinite capacity for making things go". Ball said Whittaker was a world-leading expert in theoretical astronomy and that, in relation to Whittaker's discovery of a general solution to Laplace's equation, notes that he "has already made one discovery which the greatest mathematician of the last two centuries would be proud to have placed to his credit".[19][18]

The Royal Astronomers acted as directors for the Dunsink Observatory, which used outdated astronomy equipment; it was understood that the primary responsibility of the role was to teach mathematical physics at Trinity College.[2][20] During this time, the relative leisure of his post allowed him to complete the reading required to write his third major book A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity, from the age of Descartes to the close of the nineteenth century.[21] Also during this time, he wrote the book The Theory of Optical Instruments, published six astronomy papers, and published collected astronomical observations.[18]

University of Edinburgh

The 1913 Colloquium for the Edinburgh Mathematical Society. Whittaker is featured sitting at the far left end of the front row.

Whittaker became Professor of Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh in January 1912, where he remained for the rest of his career.[2][20] The role was left vacant by the death of his predecessor, George Chrystal in 1911.[20] He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1912, after being nominated by Cargill Gilston Knott, Ralph Allan Sampson, James Gordon MacGregor and Sir William Turner. He served as Secretary to the Society from 1916 to 1922, the Vice President from 1925 to 1928 and from 1937 to 1939, and was President of the Society from 1939 to 1944, through the war years.[3] Whittaker began holding "research lectures" in mathematics at the university, typically given twice a week.[22] He was said to be a great lecturer by one of his previous attendees, who stated that his "clear diction, his felicity of language and his enthusiasm could not fail to evoke a response" and that he was very good with illustrations.[23][24]

Freeman Dyson commented on Whittaker's lecture style by saying that students were "warmed, not only by the physical presence of a big crowd packed together, but by the mental vigour and enthusiasm of the old man".[25] Whittaker's efforts helped transform the Edinburgh Mathematical Society from a teachers society to an academic research society and was a major driving force in introducing computational mathematics education to the UK and America.[15]

Shortly after coming to

definite integrals, and numerical solution of differential equations.[22] The laboratory program was so successful, it resulted in many requests for an extra summer course to allow others to attend who previously were unable, ultimately leading to the establishment of a colloquium through the Edinburgh Mathematical Society. In 1913, Whittaker established the Edinburgh Mathematical Society Colloquium and the first was held over five days in August of that year.[22]

The textbook The calculus of observations was compiled from courses given at the Laboratory over a ten-year period; the book was well received and ultimately went through four editions.[27]

Fellowships and academic positions

Outside of the Royal Astronomer of Ireland and his roles in the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Whittaker held several notable academic posts, including president of the

Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize Lectureship for "his service to mathematics" with the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1924 through 1928.[29]

He was elected either Honorary Fellow or Foreign Member in a number of academic organisations, including the

D.Sc.s from the National University of Ireland in 1939 and University of Manchester in 1944.[2]

Later life

Whittaker published many works on philosophy and theism in the last years of his career and during his retirement in addition to his work on the second edition of A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity. He released two books on Christianity and published several books and papers on the philosophy of Arthur Eddington.[30]

Christianity

Whittaker was a

American Vogue, making him "a rare, if not unique, example of a man whose published work not only crossed disciplinary boundaries, but was published everywhere from Nature to Vogue."[28]

Retirement

Whittaker retired from his position as chair of the mathematics department at the

emeritus professor status at the university which he retained until his death.[20] In retirement, Whittaker worked tirelessly on the second edition of his A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity, releasing The Classical Theories just a few years later.[5] He also continued publishing works in philosophy and theism. James Robert McConnell noted that Whittaker's research in the connection between physics and philosophy spanned nearly forty publications written over his last 15 years.[35] During the three years prior to the publication of second volume of his History, Whittaker had already determined that he was going to give priority for the discovery of special relativity to Henri Poincaré and Hendrik Lorentz in the new book.[36] Max Born, a friend of Whittaker's, wrote a letter to Einstein in September 1953 explaining that he had done all he could over the previous three years to convince Whittaker to change his mind about Einstein's role, but Whittaker was resolved in the idea and, according to Born, he "cherished" and "loved to talk" about it.[36] Born told Einstein that Whittaker insists that all the important features were developed by Poincaré while Lorentz "quite plainly had the physical interpretation", which annoyed Born as Whittaker was a "great authority in the English speaking countries" and he was worried that Whittaker's view would influence others.[36]

Death

Whittaker died at his home, 48

William Hunter McCrea,[40] among others.[41][23] His house was owned by the University of Edinburgh and was demolished in the 1960s to expand the campus and now holds the William Robertson Building.[42]

Personal life

In 1901, while at Cambridge, he married Mary Ferguson Macnaghten Boyd, the daughter of a

Presbyterian minister and granddaughter of Thomas Jamieson Boyd.[2] They had five children, two daughters and three sons including the mathematician John Macnaghten Whittaker (1905–1984).[5] His elder daughter, Beatrice, married Edward Taylor Copson, who would later become Professor of Mathematics at the University of St Andrews.[43]

William Hunter McCrea described Whittaker as having a "quick wit" with an "ever-present sense of humour" and being "the most unselfish of men with a delicate sense of what would give help or pleasure to others".[40] He notes that Whittaker had a "vast number of friends" and that he "never missed an opportunity to do or say something on behalf of any one of them".[40]

Legacy

In addition to his textbooks and other works, several of which remain in print, Whittaker is remembered for his research in

Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society was dedicated to his life and works.[44] The volume included an article by Robert Alexander Rankin on Whittaker's work on automorphic functions,[45] an article on Whittaker's work on numerical analysis by Alexander Aitken,[20] his work on Harmonic functions was covered in an article by Temple,[46] John Lighton Synge wrote about his contributions to the theory of relativity,[47] and James Robert McConnell wrote about Whittaker's philosophy.[35] Among others, Whittaker coined the terms cardinal function and Mathieu function.[48] The School of Mathematics of the University of Edinburgh holds the annual Whittaker Colloquium in his honour.[6][49] Funded by a donation from his family in 1958, the Edinburgh Mathematical Society promotes an outstanding young Scottish mathematician once every four years with the Sir Edmund Whittaker Memorial Prize, also given in his honour.[50]

Namesakes and notable research

Whittaker is the

automorphic representations.[52] He published also on algebraic functions, though they were typically limited to special cases.[20] Whittaker had a lifelong interest in automorphic functions and he published three papers on the topic throughout his career.[53] Among other contributions, he found the general expression for the Bessel functions as integrals involving Legendre functions.[51]

Whittaker also made contributions to the theory of

Laplace equation in three dimensions and the solution of the wave equation.[55]

Notable works

Main article: Bibliography of E. T. Whittaker

Whittaker wrote three scientific

William Hunter McCrea predicted that future readers would have a hard time acknowledging it was the result of just "a few years at both ends of a career of the highest distinction in other pursuits."[57]

Whittaker also wrote The theory of optical instruments during his time as

Royal Astronomer of Ireland as well as several books on philosophy and theism.[56] Whittaker's bibliography in the Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society includes 11 books and monographs, 56 mathematics and physics articles, 35 philosophy and history articles, and 21 biographical articles, excluding popular and semi-popular articles published in magazines such as Scientific American.[48] In the bibliography compiled by McCrea in 1957, there are 13 books and monographs and the same journal articles, also excluding popular articles.[58] Among other topics, Whittaker wrote a total of ten papers on electromagnetism and general relativity.[47]

Whittaker & Watson

Main article: A Course of Modern Analysis

Whittaker was the original author of the classic textbook

special functions and their associated differential equations as well as in the study of functions of complex variables.[20]

Analytical Dynamics of Particles and Rigid Bodies

Main article: Analytical Dynamics of Particles and Rigid Bodies

Whittaker's second major work, A Treatise on the Analytical Dynamics of Particles and Rigid Bodies was first published in 1904, and quickly became a classic textbook in

Hamiltonian dynamics, which played a fundamental role in the development of quantum mechanics.[60] A. C. Aitken called the book "epoch making in a very precise sense", noting that just before the development of the theory of relativity, the book provided a detailed summary of classical dynamics and the progress that had been made in Lagrangian mechanics and Hamiltonian mechanics, including work from Henri Poincaré and Tullio Levi-Civita.[20] The book has received many recommendations, including from Victor Lenzen in 1952, nearly 50 years after its initial publication, who said the book was still the "best exposition of the subject on the highest possible level".[62] It was noted in a 2014 article covering the book's development, published in the Archive for History of Exact Sciences, that the book was used for more than just a historical book, where it was pointed out that of the 114 books and papers that cited the book between 2000 and 2012, "only three are of a historical nature".[61] In that same period, the book was said to be "highly recommended to advanced readers" in the 2006 engineering textbook Principles of Engineering Mechanics.[63]

A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity

Main article: A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity

In 1910, Whittaker wrote A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity,[64] which gave a detailed account of the aether theories from René Descartes to Hendrik Lorentz and Albert Einstein, including the contributions of Hermann Minkowski. The book was well received and established Whittaker as a respected historian of science.[65] A second, revised and extended edition was later released. The first volume, subtitled the classical theories, was published in 1951[66] and served as a revised and updated edition of the first book. The second volume, published in 1953,[67] extended this work covering the years 1900–1926. Notwithstanding a notorious controversy on Whittaker's views on the history of special relativity, covered in volume two of the second edition, the books are considered authoritative references on the history of classical electromagnetism[68] and are considered classic books in the history of physics.[69] Due to the book's role in the relativity priority dispute, however, the second volume is cited far less than the first volume and first edition, except in connection with the controversy.[70]

Relativity priority dispute

Main article: A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity § Special relativity controversy
Further information: Relativity priority dispute

Whittaker is also remembered for his role in the

special relativity paper, saying it "set forth the relativity theory of Poincaré and Lorentz with some amplifications, and which attracted much attention".[71] Max Born, a friend of Whittaker's, wrote to Einstein expressing his concern about the book's publication and wrote a rebuttal in his 1956 book.[36][72] The controversy was also mentioned in one of Whittaker's obituaries by Gerald James Whitrow, who said that he had written Whittaker a letter explaining how the latter's views "did not do justice to the originality of Einstein's philosophy", but remarked that he understood why Whittaker felt the need to correct the popular misconception that Einstein's contribution was unique.[32] Max Born's rebuttal, published in his 1956 book, also argues that while the contributions of Lorentz and Poincaré should not be overlooked, it was the postulates and philosophy of Einstein's theory that "distinguishes Einstein’s work from his predecessors and gives us the right to speak of Einstein’s theory of relativity, in spite of Whittaker’s different opinion".[72] Though the dispute has lasted decades, most scholars have rejected Whittaker's arguments and scientific consensus has continued to hold that special relativity was Einstein's development.[73]

Philosophy

Whittaker's views on philosophy was analysed by

Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society.[35] McConnell noted that Whittaker's research into the connections between physics and philosophy were spread across approximately forty publications.[74] Whittaker's worldview was classified as neo-Cartesianism in the volume, a philosophy described as being "founded on the principle that the search for a universal science should be modelled on the procedure of physicomathematicians."[75] McConnell notes several of Whittaker's original contributions to René Descartes' philosophical system, but goes on to sum up the work by saying that while he admired Whittaker's attempt at the problem, he was not satisfied with the many transitions between mathematics, aesthetics, ethics. He stated that "If the transitions from mathematics to moral values are not firmly established, Whittaker's attempt does not succeed in remedying the defects of Descartes' solution."[76] Whittaker published work in several other areas of philosophy, including research on Eddington's principle, a conjecture by Arthur Eddington that all quantitative propositions in physics can be derived from qualitative assertions.[30] In addition to publishing Eddington's Fundamental Theory, Whittaker wrote two other books pertaining to Eddington's philosophy.[30] Whittaker also wrote at length about the impacts of then-recent discoveries in astronomy on religion and theology,[77] determinism and free will,[78] and natural theology.[79] In the conclusion of his article, McConnell sums up Whittaker's philosophic works as appearing as though it came from "that of the scholarly Christian layman".[79] On metaphysics, he goes on to note that there are few scholars who are competent in both physics and metaphysics and states that future work could benefit and draw inspiration from Whittaker's research in the area.[79]

Awards and honours

In 1931, Whittaker received the

King George VI,[82] and in 1954, receiving the Royal Society's Copley Medal, its highest award, "for his distinguished contributions to both pure and applied mathematics and to theoretical physics".[18][83] In the opening remarks of the 1954 address of President Edgar Adrian to the Royal Society, Adrian announces Whittaker as that years Copley medallist saying he is probably the most well-known British mathematician at the time, due to "his numerous, varied and important contributions" as well as the offices he had held.[84] Noting contributions to nearly all fields of applied mathematics and then-recent contributions to pure mathematics, relativity, electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics, Adrian goes on to say that the "astonishing quantity and quality of his work is probably unparalleled in modern mathematics and it is most appropriate that the Royal Society should confer on Whittaker its most distinguished award."[84]

Whittaker also gave several distinguished lectures, some of which formed the base of books he would later write.

Tarner Lecture at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1947 and held the Larmor lectureship of the Royal Irish Academy and the Herbert Spencer lectureship at the University of Oxford, both in 1948.[2]

See also

Wikisource has original works by or about:
E. T. Whittaker
Wikimedia Commons has media related to E. T. Whittaker.

References

  1. ^ a b c Temple 1956, p. 299
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Temple 1956, p. 300
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-902198-84-5
    .
  4. ^ a b c d e f Temple 1956, p. 301
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Martin 1958, pp. 6–9
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k E. T. Whittaker at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Martin 1958, pp. 2–3
  8. ^ a b c d e Maidment & McCartney 2019, p. 179
  9. ^ Ernest Barker (1953) Age and Youth, p 280, Oxford University Press
  10. ^ "Whittaker, Edmund Taylor (WHTR892ET)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  11. ^ Maidment & McCartney 2019, p. 180
  12. ^ a b Coutinho 2014, pp. 357–358
  13. ^ a b Maidment & McCartney 2019, p. 181
  14. ^ "Mayhew Prize winners list". University of Leeds. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
  15. ^ a b Maidment & McCartney 2019, p. 187
  16. ^ Maidment & McCartney 2019, pp. 183–184
  17. ^ a b Maidment & McCartney 2019, pp. 184–185
  18. ^ a b c d e f Maidment & McCartney 2019, p. 185
  19. ^
    OCLC 958101932
    .
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i Aitken 1958
  21. ^ Temple 1956, p. 319
  22. ^ a b c Martin 1958, pp. 3–4
  23. ^
    JSTOR 41218460
    .
  24. JSTOR 3610345
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  25. JSTOR 24944499
    .
  26. ^ a b Maidment & McCartney 2019, p. 186
  27. ^ Maidment & McCartney 2019, p. 188
  28. ^ a b c Maidment & McCartney 2019, p. 190
  29. ^ "Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize Lectureship" (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  30. ^ a b c McConnell 1958, pp. 59–60
  31. ^ a b Maidment & McCartney 2019, p. 189
  32. ^ a b c d e Whitrow 1956
  33. OCLC 646740256
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  34. S2CID 4083544
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  35. ^ a b c McConnell 1958
  36. ^
    OCLC 243246354
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  37. ^ "Oxford DNB article: Whittaker". mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  38. ^ Aitken 1956
  39. ^ Dingle 1956
  40. ^ a b c McCrea 1957
  41. ^ Martin 1958
  42. ^ "Architecture Notes | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  43. ^ a b "National News". Archived from the original on 15 February 2005. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  44. S2CID 29384754
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  45. ^ Rankin 1958
  46. ^ Temple 1958
  47. ^ a b Synge 1958
  48. ^ a b Temple 1956, pp. 321–325
  49. Robertson, Edmund F. "E. T. Whittaker". MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. University of St Andrews
    .
  50. ^ Fulton 1958
  51. ^ a b McCrea 1957, p. 244
  52. ISSN 0030-8730
    .
  53. ^ Rankin 1958, p. 25
  54. ^ Temple 1958, p. 11
  55. ^ Maidment & McCartney 2019, p. 183
  56. ^ a b c d Temple 1956, pp. 318
  57. ^ McCrea 1957, p. 251
  58. ^ McCrea 1957, pp. 253–256
  59. doi:10.1090/s0002-9904-1904-01123-4
    .
  60. ^ a b Martin 1958, pp. 1–2
  61. ^ a b c d Coutinho 2014, pp. 356–357
  62. ISSN 0021-1753
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  63. ISBN 978-0-387-31255-2
    . Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  64. doi:10.1090/s0002-9904-1913-02381-4
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  65. JSTOR 3610345
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  66. ISSN 0021-1753. p. 294
  67. OCLC 20357018
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  68. OCLC 38073290
    . The story of the development of our understanding of electricity and magnetism is, of course, much longer and richer than the mention of a few names from one century would indicate. For a detailed account of the fascinating history, the reader should consult the authoritative volumes by Whittaker
  69. ISSN 0002-9505
    .
  70. JSTOR 234708
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  71. ^ Whittaker, E. T. (1953). A History of the Theories of Aether and Electricity: The Modern Theories. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Thomas Nelson and Sons. p. 40.
  72. ^
    OCLC 427382550
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  73. ISBN 978-0-486-69046-9
    . Whittaker's views on the origin of special relativity have been rejected by the great majority of scholars
  74. ^ McConnell 1958, p. 57
  75. ^ McConnell 1958, p. 58
  76. ^ McConnell 1958, p. 59
  77. ^ McConnell 1958, pp. 62–66
  78. ^ McConnell 1958, pp. 60–62
  79. ^ a b c McConnell 1958, pp. 66–68
  80. S2CID 144823754
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  81. ^ "List of LMS prize winners | London Mathematical Society". www.lms.ac.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  82. ^ "No. 36866". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 29 December 1944. p. 2.
  83. ^ "Copley Medal | Royal Society". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  84. ^
    S2CID 166174780
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Bibliography

Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society in June 1958. The Proceedings is a delayed open-access journal
, where the contents are free to read one year after publication.

Obituaries

Whittaker Memorial Volume: Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society, June 1958

Further reading
Archives at
LocationUniversity of Toronto Archives & Records Management Services Edit this on Wikidata
IdentifiersMS COLL 00219 2B Annex Edit this on Wikidata
SourceEdmund Taylor Whittaker papers
How to use archival material
Academic offices
Preceded by
Andrews Professor of Astronomy, Royal Astronomer of Ireland

1906–1912 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh
1912–1946 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Mathematical Association
1920–1921 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the London Mathematical Society
1928–1929 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
1939–1944 		Succeeded by
Professor Sir William Wright Smith
Awards
Preceded by
Sir
Joseph John Thomson
 Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize
1924–1928 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Sylvester Medal
1931 		Succeeded by
Preceded by De Morgan Medal
1935 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Copley Medal
1954 		Succeeded by
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