Everything about Nicholas Saunderson totally explained
Nicholas Saunderson (1682–
April 19,
1739) was an
English scientist and
mathematician. According to the leading historian of statistics, he was the discoverer of
Bayes theorem.
Biography
Saunderson was born at
Thurlstone,
Yorkshire, in January 1682. When about a year old he lost his sight through
smallpox; but this didn't prevent him from acquiring a knowledge of
Latin and
Greek, and studying
mathematics. As a child, he's also thought to have learnt to read by tracing the engravings on tombstones around St John the Baptist Church in
Penistone with his fingers. His early education was at
Penistone Grammar School.
In 1707 he arrived in
Cambridge, staying with his friend Joshua Dunn, a fellow-commoner at
Christ's College. During this time, he resided in Christ's but wasn't admitted to the University. With the permission of the
Lucasian professor,
William Whiston, Saunderson was allowed to teach, lecturing on mathematics, astronomy and optics. Whiston was expelled from his chair on
30 October 1710; at the appeal of the heads of colleges,
Queen Anne awarded Saunderson a Master of Arts degree on
19 November 1711 so that he'd be eligible to succeed Whiston as Lucasian professor, and he was chosen as the fourth Lucasian professor the next day. On
6 November 1718 he was elected a fellow of the
Royal Society. He was resident at Christ's until 1723 when he married and took a house in Cambridge. He was created doctor of laws in 1728 by command of
George II. He died of
scurvy, on
19 April 1739 and was buried in the chancel of the parish church at
Boxworth near Cambridge.
Saunderson possessed the friendship of many of the eminent mathematicians of the time, such as Sir
Isaac Newton,
Edmund Halley,
Abraham De Moivre and
Roger Cotes. His senses of hearing and touch were extraordinarily acute, and he could carry on mentally long and intricate mathematical calculations. He devised a calculating machine or
abacus, by which he could perform arithmetical and algebraic operations by the sense of touch; this method is sometimes termed his palpable arithmetic, an account of which is given in his elaborate
Elements of Algebra.
Of his other writings, prepared for the use of his pupils, the only one which has been published is
The Method of Fluxions.
At the end of this treatise there's given, in Latin, an explanation of the principal propositions of Sir Isaac Newton’s philosophy.
St Johns Gardens at St Johns Church in Penistone features a memorial spiral to Saunderson, the gardens are a joint project between St John the Baptist Church, Penistone and Penistone & District Community Partnership.
Saunderson's life has been turned into a musical called No Horizon written by Andy Platt, a school teacher from near Thurlstone where Saunderson was born.
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