Samuel Earnshaw

Samuel Earnshaw ( born 1 February 1805 in Sheffield, † December 6, 1888 in Sheffield ) was an English clergyman, mathematician and physicist.

Life

His parents were Joseph and Martha, the father was Feilenhauer and later headmaster. Samuel attended the Carver St. National School and was taught by Rev. William Ellis in Doncaster. On 5 July 1827 he was admitted to St. John's College, Cambridge. However, he initially for his maintenance even have to pay what he did not succeed. So he could only really begin in late 1828 with the study, after he had been neuaufgenommen as sizar, who had to serve the Fellows and for something received from their meals. 1830 Earnshaw received the " Hebblethwaite Scholar " scholarship, 1831, he graduated as valedictorian. In 1834 he received his Master of Arts.

Since he had married on January 6, 1832 Ann Wall (her son Samuel Walter was born in 1833 ), he could not be appointed as a Fellow. Instead, he worked as a private tutor for physics and mathematics and began a career as a cleric. Still in 1834, he was appointed deacon in Buckden, in the church of St. Michael on September 20, 1846 ordained a priest in Cambridge. In 1837 he was proctor, 1838, he received the prebend of Barnaby Lecturship in Philosophy at the Congregation.

1847 piloted Earnshaw due to health problems back to Sheffield, where he accepted the post of chaplain to Queen Mary's. He was responsible for the introduction of the University Local Examinations in Sheffield. The associated lectures made ​​a deep impression on Mark Firth, the Firth of college founded in 1879 ( which later became the University of Sheffield was ), was for the first Earnshaw Vice President and President from 1880. 1887 Earnshaw Chair it was set up in honor.

In the same year Samuel Earnshaw died son, and he even on 6 December 1888 at the age of 83 years.

Work

Earnshaw since 1832 published mathematical and physical articles and books. His most famous contribution is the Earnshaw theorem about the impossibility of stable hovering permanent magnets, other topics were optics, waves, dynamics and acoustics in physics, calculus, trigonometry and partial differential equations in mathematics. As a cleric, he published several sermons and treatises.

Source

• Biography on the website of Yale University (English, with figure of a bust )

• Mathematicians (19th Century )
• Physicist (19th Century )
• Anglican cleric (19th Century )
• University teachers (Sheffield )
• Briton
• English
• Born in 1805
• Died in 1888
• Man