William Neile

William Neile ( born December 16, 1637 Bishopthorpe in York, † August 24 1670 in White Waltham, Berkshire ) was an English mathematician.

Neile was the son of Sir Paul Neile (1613-1686), one of the founders of the Royal Society, senior official at Charles I and amateur astronomer with a private observatory at his home in White Waltham, in which Christopher Wren was a guest. He also built his own telescopes. His grandfather Richard Neile was Archbishop of York. His mother, Elizabeth Clarke was the daughter of the Archdeacon ( Archdeacon ) of Durham Gabriel Clarke. Neile studied from 1652 at the University of Oxford in Wadham College, where he was a pupil of John Wilkins and Seth Ward in mathematics. In 1657 he studied law at the Middle Temple in London and was later a member of the Privy Council ( Privy Council ) of Charles II

As a student, he made a startling for its time mathematical discovery: he determined the arc length of an algebraic curve ( a cubic ) - it These were later named after him Neilsche or semikubische parable - and led back this on an integration ( area estimation ). Regardless this was achieved at about the same time Hendrick van Heuraet in the Netherlands ( and Pierre de Fermat ). Neile announced the discovery of William Brouncker and Christopher Wren from the Gresham College Society with a letter and it was published by John Wallis in 1659 in his treatise De Cycloide. Neile formulated the solution in geometrical language, but it was transferred from Wallis in algebraic form.

Neile was in 1663 one of the early members of the Royal Society in 1666 and was a member of the Council ( like his father ).

Neile also dealt with motion laws of mechanics and astronomy.

He died at the age of 32. His last years were clouded by a jaundiced and his father's refusal to consent to an intended marriage of Neile.