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An exceptional copy; fine in an equally fine dust wrapper. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Literally as new.; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 466 pages; Physical description; ix, 466 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm. Contents Introduction -- 1. Cambridge: The rise and fall of the mathematical tripos / Tony Crilly -- 2. Mathematics in Victorian Oxford: A tale of three professors / Keith Hannabuss -- 3. Mathematics in the metropolis: A survey of Victorian London / Adrian Rice -- 4. Scotland: Land of opportunity but few rewards / A.J.S. Mann and A.D.D. Craik -- 5. Taking root: Mathematics in Victorian Ireland / Raymond Flood -- 6. Wranglers in exile: Mathematics in the British empire / June Barrow-Green -- 7. A voice for mathematics: Victorian mathematical journals and societies / Sloan Evans Despeaux -- 8. Victorian 'applied mathematics' / A.D.D. Craik -- 9. Victorian astronomy: The age of the 'Grand Amateur' / Allan Chapman -- 10. Calculating engines: Machines, mathematics, and misconceptions / Doron D. Swade -- 11. Vital statistics: The measurement of public health / M. Eileen Magnello -- 13. Instruction in the calculus and differential equations in Victorian and Edwardian Britain / I. Grattan-Guinness -- 14. Geometry: The Euclid debate / Amirouche Moktefi -- 15. Victorian algebra: The freedom to create new mathematical entities / Karen Hunger Parshall -- 16. Victorian logic: From Whately to Russell / I. Grattan-Guinness -- 17. Combinatorics: A very Victorian recreation / Robin Wilson -- 18. Overstating their case? Reflections on British pure mathematics in the 19th century / Jeremy Gray.SummaryDuring the Victorian era, industrial and economic growth led to a phenomenal rise in productivity and invention. That spirit of creativity and ingenuity was reflected in the massive expansion in scope and complexity of many scientific disciplines during this time, with subjects evolving rapidly and the creation of many new disciplines. The subject of mathematics was no exception and many of the advances made by mathematicians during the Victorian period are still familiar today; matrices, vectors, Boolean algebra, histograms, and standard deviation were just some of the innovations pioneered by these mathematicians. This book constitutes perhaps the first general survey of the mathematics of the Victorian period. It assembles in a single source research on the history of Victorian mathematics that would otherwise be out of the reach of the general reader. It charts the growth and institutional development of mathematics as a profession through the course of the 19th century in England, Scotland, Ireland, and across the British Empire. It then focuses on developments in specific mathematical areas, with chapters ranging from developments in pure mathematical topics (such as geometry, algebra, and logic) to Victorian work in the applied side of the subject (including statistics, calculating machines, and astronomy). Along the way, we encounter a host of mathematical scholars, some very well known (such as Charles Babbage, James Clerk Maxwell, Florence Nightingale, and Lewis Carroll), others largely forgotten, but who all contributed to the development of Victorian mathematics. his way, pick it up and carry on reading, is a real testament to how wonderfully good it really is. Biography; Robin Wilson is Emeritus Professor of Pure Mathematics at the Open University, formerly Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London, a former fellow of Keble College, Oxford, and president-elect of the British Society for the History of Mathematics. He is involved with the popularization and communication of mathematics and its history, and in 2005 was awarded a Polya prize by the Mathematical Association of America for outstanding expository writing. He was formerly Editor-in-Chief of the European Mathematical Society's Newsletter and Chair of the Committee on Raising Public Awareness of Mathematics.Subjects;
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