Robin Wilson (mathematician)

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This article is about the mathematician. For the musician, see Robin Wilson (musician).

PhD
)
Spouse
Joy Crispin
​
(m. 1968)​
Children2
Parent(s)Harold Wilson
Mary Baldwin
Scientific career
FieldsGraph theory
InstitutionsOpen University
University of Oxford
Gresham College
Doctoral advisorNesmith Ankeny
Doctoral studentsAmanda Chetwynd

Robin James Wilson (born 5 December 1943) is an English mathematician. He is an emeritus professor in the Department of Mathematics at the Open University, having previously been Head of the Pure Mathematics Department and Dean of the Faculty.[1] He was a stipendiary lecturer at Pembroke College, Oxford[2] and, from 2004 to 2008, Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London.[3] On occasion, he teaches at Colorado College in the United States.[4] He is also a long standing fellow of Keble College, Oxford.

Professor Wilson is a son of former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his wife, Mary.

Early life and education

Wilson was born in 1943 to the politician

Oxford, an MA from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania (1965–1968). In a Guardian interview in 2008, Wilson spoke of the fact he grew up known to everyone primarily as a son of the Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Harold Wilson: "I hated the attention and I still dislike being introduced as Harold Wilson's son. I feel uncomfortable talking about it to strangers even now."[6]

Mathematics career

Wilson's academic interests lie in graph theory, particularly in colouring problems, e.g. the four colour problem, and algebraic properties of graphs. He also researches the history of mathematics, particularly British mathematics and mathematics in the 17th century and the period 1860 to 1940, and the history of graph theory and combinatorics.

In 1974, he won the

Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős, Wilson has an Erdős number
of 1.

In July 2008, he published a study of the mathematical work of

ISBN 978-0-7139-9757-6). From January 1999 to September 2003, Wilson was editor-in-chief of the European Mathematical Society Newsletter.[10] He is past President of the British Society for the History of Mathematics.[11]

Since 1985, Robin Wilson has edited the "Stamp Corner" column for the Mathematical Intelligencer.[12]

Other interests

He has strong interests in music, including the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, and is the co-author (with Frederic Lloyd) of Gilbert and Sullivan: The Official D'Oyly Carte Picture History.[13] In 2007, he was a guest on Private Passions, the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3.[14]

Personal life

Wilson is married and has twin daughters.[15]

Publications

Wilson has written or edited about thirty books, including popular books on

Four Color Theorem
:

References

  1. ^ "Prof Robin Wilson". UK: Open University, Department of Mathematics And Statistics. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  2. ^ Pembroke College website
  3. ^ "Professor Robin Wilson". Gresham College. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Block Visitors" (PDF). Countable Bits. 8 (1). The Colorado College Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. May 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  5. London Evening Standard
    . 20 November 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  6. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  7. ^ Paul R. Halmos – Lester R. Ford Awards, Mathematical Association of America
  8. JSTOR 2319608
    .
  9. doi:10.1016/0095-8956(77)90039-9
    .
  10. ISSN 1027-488X
  11. ^ "Professor Robin Wilson". Open University. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  12. ISSN 0343-6993
    .
  13. ISBN 978-0-394-54113-6
  14. ^ BBC Radio 3
  15. ^ John Crace (7 October 2008). "Serious showman". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  16. ^ Robinson, Andrew (4 January 2017). "The Turing Guide: Last words on an enigmatic codebreaker?". New Scientist.

External links

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