Mathematician

Matthew Stewart

Early Modern

Matthew Stewart was a Scottish mathematician and minister of the Church of Scotland, born in the manse at Rothesay on the Isle of Bute on 28 June 1717 and dead in 1785. He studied at Glasgow under Robert Simson, from whom he learned ancient geometry, attended Colin Maclaurin's mathematics lectures at Edinburgh, and became minister at Rosneath in 1745 before succeeding Maclaurin as Professor of Mathematics at Edinburgh in 1747. His best known work, Some General Theorems of Considerable use in the Higher Parts of Mathematics, is known for proposition II, now called Stewart's theorem, which relates measurements on a triangle to an additional line through a vertex. He solved Kepler's problem geometrically in 1756, and in 1783 was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Facts
Biography
Gender
Male 1
Birth Year
1717 1
Connections

Mentored By

Source Matthew Stewart (mathematician) (Wikipedia)
Source Matthew Stewart (mathematician) (Wikipedia)

Principal Result

Source Matthew Stewart (mathematician) (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. MacTutor History of Mathematics: Matthew Stewart biography
MacTutor History of Mathematics
  • Biography, birth
    MacTutor Home Biographies History Topics Map Curves Search Matthew Stewart Quick Info Born 15 January 1717 Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland Died 23 January 1785 Catrine, Ayrshire, Scotland Summary Matthew Stewart was a Scottish geometer who wrote on
  • Biography, gender
    View one larger picture Biography Matthew Stewart 's father was Dugald Stewart, minister of Rothesay, and his mother was Janet Bannatyne.
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Matthew Stewart (mathematician) (Wikipedia)
  • Lead, nationality
    Matthew Stewart FRS FRSE (1717-1785) was a Scottish mathematician and minister of the Church of Scotland.
  • Mentored By: Robert Simson, Body, teacher
    He was educated at Rothesay Grammar School, then entered the University of Glasgow in 1734, where he studied under the philosopher Francis Hutcheson and the mathematician Robert Simson, the latter from whom he studied ancient geometry.
  • Mentored By: Colin Maclaurin, Body, teacher
    He studied Divinity at Edinburgh University in the year 1742/43 also attending maths lectures under Colin Maclaurin.
  • Principal Result: Stewart's Theorem, Lead, principal result
    This book extended some ideas of Robert Simson and is best known for proposition II, or what is now known as Stewart's theorem, which relates measurements on a triangle to an additional line through a vertex.
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