William Rowan Hamilton | |
---|---|
President of the Royal Irish Academy | |
In office 1837–1846 | |
Preceded by | Bartholomew Lloyd |
Succeeded by | Humphrey Lloyd |
In office 1827–1865 | |
Preceded by | John Brinkley |
Succeeded by | Franz Brünnow |
Personal details | |
Born | 3 or 4 August 1805 Dublin, Ireland |
Died | 2 September 1865 Dublin, Ireland | (aged 60)
Spouse |
Helen Marie Bayly (m. 1833) |
Children | 3, including William Edwin Hamilton |
Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin |
Known for | See list
|
Awards | Cunningham Medal (1834 and 1848) Royal Medal (1835) Knight Bachelor (1835) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics Astronomy Physics |
Institutions | Trinity College Dublin Dunsink Observatory |
Academic advisors | John Brinkley |
Sir William Rowan Hamilton FRAS PRIA (3/4 August 1805 – 2 September 1865)[1][2] was an Irish mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. He was Andrews Professor of Astronomy at Trinity College Dublin and Director of the Dunsink Observatory.
Hamilton was Dunsink's third director, having worked there from 1827 to 1865. His career included the study of geometrical optics, Fourier analysis, and quaternions, the last of which made him one of the founders of modern linear algebra.[3] He has made major contributions in optics, classical mechanics, and abstract algebra. His work is fundamental to modern theoretical physics, particularly his reformulation of Newtonian mechanics. Hamiltonian mechanics including its Hamilitonian function are now central both to electromagnetism and quantum mechanics.
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