The Regius Professorship of Mathematics is the name given to three chairs in mathematics at British universities, one at the University of St Andrews, founded by Charles II in 1668, [1] the second one at the University of Warwick, founded in 2013 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II [2] [3] and the third one at the University of Oxford, founded in 2016. [4]
From 1997 to 2015 there was no Regius Professor of Mathematics. In April 2013 [5] the post was advertised, and in 2015 Igor Rivin was appointed. He was succeeded by Kenneth Falconer in 2017.
The following list may be incomplete.
The creation of the post of the Regius Professor of Mathematics was announced in January 2013, [2] [3] in March 2014 Martin Hairer was appointed to the position. Tim Austin was appointed in July 2023, following Hairer's move to Imperial College, London in 2017.
The creation of the post of the Regius Professor of Mathematics was announced in June 2016 [4] and Andrew Wiles was appointed as the first holder of the chair in May 2018. [20]
In August 2020, it was announced that the Regius Professorship in Mathematics at the University of Oxford will become a permanent fixture at Merton College. [21]
James Gregory was a Scottish mathematician and astronomer. His surname is sometimes spelt as Gregorie, the original Scottish spelling. He described an early practical design for the reflecting telescope – the Gregorian telescope – and made advances in trigonometry, discovering infinite series representations for several trigonometric functions.
Charles Alfred Coulson was a British applied mathematician and theoretical chemist.
Abram Samoilovitch Besicovitch was a Russian mathematician, who worked mainly in England. He was born in Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov to a Karaite Jewish family.
The Sylvester Medal is a bronze medal awarded by the Royal Society (London) for the encouragement of mathematical research, and accompanied by a £1,000 prize. It was named in honour of James Joseph Sylvester, the Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford in the 1880s, and first awarded in 1901, having been suggested by a group of Sylvester's friends after his death in 1897. Initially awarded every three years with a prize of around £900, the Royal Society have announced that starting in 2009 it will be awarded every two years instead, and is to be aimed at 'early to mid career stage scientist' rather than an established mathematician. The award winner is chosen by the Society's A-side awards committee, which handles physical rather than biological science awards.
Prof Arthur Geoffrey Walker FRS FRSE was a British mathematician who made important contributions to physics and physical cosmology. Although he was an accomplished geometer, he is best remembered today for two important contributions to general relativity.
John Mackintosh Howie was a Scottish mathematician and prominent semigroup theorist.
The position of Savilian Professor of Astronomy was established at the University of Oxford in 1619. It was founded by Sir Henry Savile, a mathematician and classical scholar who was Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and Provost of Eton College. He appointed John Bainbridge as the first professor, who took up his duties in 1620 or 1621.
Julian Lowell Coolidge was an American mathematician, historian, a professor and chairman of the Harvard University Mathematics Department.
Hendrik Douwe Kloosterman was a Dutch mathematician, known for his work in number theory and in representation theory.
The Beyer Chair of Applied Mathematics is an endowed professorial position in the Department of Mathematics, University of Manchester, England. The endowment came from the will of the celebrated locomotive designer and founder of locomotive builder Beyer, Peacock & Company, Charles Frederick Beyer. He was the university's largest single donor.
Edmund Frederick Robertson is a professor emeritus of pure mathematics at the University of St Andrews.
Arthur Lee Dixon FRS was a British mathematician and holder of the Waynflete Professorship of Pure Mathematics at the University of Oxford.
The position of Savilian Professor of Geometry was established at the University of Oxford in 1619. It was founded by Sir Henry Savile, a mathematician and classical scholar who was Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and Provost of Eton College, reacting to what has been described by one 20th-century mathematician as "the wretched state of mathematical studies in England" at that time. He appointed Henry Briggs as the first professor. Edward Titchmarsh said when applying that he was not prepared to lecture on geometry, and the requirement was removed from the duties of the post to enable his appointment, although the title of the chair was not changed. The two Savilian chairs have been linked with professorial fellowships at New College, Oxford, since the late 19th century. Before then, for over 175 years until the middle of the 19th century, the geometry professors had an official residence adjoining the college in New College Lane.
Robert Haldane FRSE was a British mathematician and minister of the Church of Scotland.
Prof Herbert Westren Turnbull FRS FRSE LLD was an English mathematician. From 1921 to 1950 he was Regius Professor of Mathematics at the University of St Andrews.
Kenneth John Falconer is a British mathematician working in mathematical analysis and in particular on fractal geometry. He is Regius Professor of Mathematics in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of St Andrews.
Jason Meredith Reese (24 June 1967 – 8 March 2019 was a British engineering scientist, and Regius Professor of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh.
Nicolas Vilant FRSE (1737-1807) was a mathematician from Scotland in the 18th century, known for his textbooks. He was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783.