Abstract
Robert Simson (1687–1768) was Professor of Mathematics at the University of Glasgow from 1711 until his retirement in 1761. He had originally studied for the ministry at Glasgow but mathematics, which he first came to as a relaxation from theological arguments, gradually became his dominant interest. During 1710–11 he spent about a year in London pursuing his mathematical studies and becoming acquainted with several eminent mathematicians, in particular Edmund Halley, who was largely responsible for Simson’s dedicating himself to the study of Greek geometry.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2000 Springer-Verlag London
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tweddle, I. (2000). Introduction. In: Simson on Porisms. Sources in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3673-6_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3673-6_1
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-84996-862-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-3673-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive