Morris Birkbeck Pell
Morris Birkbeck Pell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 31 March 1827 Cambridge University |
| Occupation(s) | Mathematician, professor, lawyer and actuary |
| Spouse | Julia Rusden |
| Parent(s) | Eliza Birkbeck Gilbert Titus Pell |
| Relatives | Morris Birkbeck (grandfather) |
Morris Birkbeck Pell (31 March 1827 – 7 May 1879) was an American-Australian
Natural Philosophy at the University of Sydney in 1852, and continued in the role until ill health enforced his retirement in 1877. He was for many years a member of the University Senate, and councillor and secretary of the Royal Society of New South Wales
.
Early life
Pell's mother Eliza Birkbeck (1797-1880) was a daughter of
Sir John Pell (1643-1702), Lord of Pelham Manor, New York—who was the son of English mathematician Dr. John Pell (1611-1685), and nephew and heir of early American pioneer and settler Thomas Pell
. Gilbert Pell served as a representative in the Illinois legislature, and in the 1850s was appointed United States envoy to Mexico.
Morris Pell was born of this union in the new settlement of Albion in 1827, their third child and only son. In 1835 the family separated and Mrs Pell took her children first to
Cambridge University—a position once regarded as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain."[2]
Career
In 1852, aged 24, Pell was chosen from twenty-six candidates to become the first Professor of Mathematics and
William Windeyer, later to become Chancellor of the university, wrote in his diary: "Went to a lecture at 10 with Mr Pell, who amused as well as instructed, I think I shall like him ...".[3]
In 1854, in evidence to a
squatters, and the beneficial effect of the university on secondary education. His evidence resulted in ex-officio membership of the University Senate for professors. He was a member of the Senate from 1861 to 1877 and after resignation was re-elected to the senate in 1878 by members of convocation.[1]
Pell was a member of the
Royal Assent to the Society and it was renamed the Royal Society of New South Wales
. Pell was a member and its secretary from 1867, and a member of its council from 1869.
For many years almost crippled by an injury to his spine, Pell resigned in mid-1877 as professor of mathematics at Sydney University, on a pension of £412 10s.
Personal life
On 7 May 1879, aged 52, he died of "progressive paralysis" (see
Motor neuron disease) and was buried in the Balmain Cemetery
in Sydney. He was survived by his estranged wife Julia (née Rusden), five sons and three daughters.
References
- ^ a b c Turner, I. S. Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- ^ Forfar, David (1996). "What became of the Senior Wranglers?". Mathematical Spectrum. 29 (1).
- ^ "About the School". www.maths.usyd.edu.au.
External links
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