John Kingman
Sir John Kingman Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol | |
|---|---|
| In office 1985–2001 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Haggett (acting) Alec Merrison |
| Succeeded by | Sir Eric Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Frank Charles Kingman 28 August 1939 John Oliver Frank Kingman |
| Education | Christ's College, Finchley |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge (BA, 1960) |
| Known for | Coalescent theory Heavy traffic approximation Kingman's formula Kingman's subadditive ergodic theorem |
Sir John Frank Charles Kingman
Education and early life
The grandson of a
Career and research
Whittle left Cambridge for the University of Manchester, and, rather than follow him there, Kingman moved instead to the University of Oxford, where he resumed his work under David Kendall. After another year, Kendall was appointed a professor at Cambridge and so Kingman returned to Cambridge. He returned, however, as a member of the teaching staff (and a Fellow of Pembroke College) and never completed his PhD.[8] He married Valerie Crompton, a historian at the University of Sussex in 1964, and in 1965 he took up the post of Reader at the newly built University of Sussex where she was teaching, and was elected Professor of Mathematics and Statistics after only a year.[5][7][8] He said of this post:
Sussex in the 1960s was a very exciting place, alive with ideas and opportunities. My wife was teaching history there, and we made many friends across the whole range of subjects. [5]
He held this post until 1969, when he moved, figuratively, but not physically, to Oxford as Wallis Professor of Mathematics, a position he held until 1985.[5][7][8] He has said of this appointment:
Statistics in Oxford in 1969 was frankly a mess. There was no professor of statistics, the only chair having been abolished some years before...[Maurice Bartlett and] I conspired to persuade Oxford to take statistics seriously.[8]
During his time at Oxford, as well as holding a Fellowship at St Anne's College from 1978 to 1985, Kingman also chaired the Science and Engineering Research Council (now the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)) from 1981 to 1985,[5][7] was vice-president of the Institute of Statisticians from 1978 until 1992 and held visiting appointments at the University of Western Australia (1974) and the Australian National University (1978).[5] It was also during this time that Kingman developed the theory of the Coalescent or Coalescent theory,[9][10] a backwards-in-time theory of individuals in historical populations that, because it greatly simplifies computation, underlies much of modern population genomics.[11]
From October 1985, Kingman was elected
Honors and awards
In 1985 Kingman was
Personal life
He married Valerie Cromwell in 1964.
Bibliography
- Kingman, J. F. C.; Taylor, S. J. (1966). Introduction to Measure and Probability. Cambridge University Press.
- Kingman, J. F. C. (1966). On the Algebra of Queues. Methuen. ASIN B0007ILKPE. [ISBN missing]
- Kingman, J. F. C. (1972). Regenerative Phenomena. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. ISBN 0-471-47905-5.
- Kingman, J. F. C. (1980). Mathematics of Genetic Diversity. Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. ISBN 0-89871-166-5.
- Kingman, J. F. C. (1993). Poisson Processes. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-853693-3.
References
- ^ doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.23167. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b c John Kingman at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- EThOS uk.bl.ethos.457865.
- ^ a b "Sir John Kingman FRS". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
- ^ MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. University of St Andrews. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ Kingman's page at the Isaac Newton Institute
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sir John Kingman, FRS". Isaac Newton Institute. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Interview with Sir John Kingman" (PDF). Newsletter No. 43. European Mathematical Society. March 2002. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- S2CID 125055288.
- PMID 11102348.
- ^ Wakeley, John (2009). "Coalescent Theory. An Introduction". Greenwood Village, Colorado: Roberts & Company.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "University chiefs get 9.3% pay rise". BBC News. 8 February 2002. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ "The List of Past Presidents". Royal Statistical Society. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. University of St Andrews. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ISBN 0-11-270650-9.
- ^ "Chairman of the Statistics Commission appointed" (Press release). HM Treasury. 29 March 2000. Archived from the original on 10 September 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ "Days numbered for census?". BBC News. 19 February 2002. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ "Census 'should be reviewed'". BBC News. 6 March 2002. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ "Select Committee on Treasury: Minutes of Evidence". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 21 November 2001. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ "LMS Prizes: Berwick Prize". London Mathematical Society. Archived from the original on 4 August 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- The Royal Society. Archived from the originalon 7 October 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- The Royal Society. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ Kingman, John (11 March 2018). "Kingman". Telegraph announcements. Telegraph Media Group Limited.
