Mathematics in Victorian Britain

Graham Wheeler, Significance Mathematics in Victorian Britain is one of the most enjoyable books that I have had the pleasure of reading. In both senses of the word, it is most certainly unputdownable.

Fortean Times For anyone with the slightest interest in the history of mathematics, this is an excellent volume for dipping into.

Wallace A. Ferguson, Mathematics Today The book is clearly written and edited ... A must for anyone interested in this period.

N. G. Macleod, Maths in SchoolMarch 2012 414 fascinating pages which keep the reader enthralled like a story, although each chapter could be read on its own ... Would I have bought this book in a shop? YES, absolutely.

Graham Wheeler, Significance As a rule of thumb, if one reads a book and is unable to put it down, then it is a good book. In the case of Mathematics in Victorian Britain, I had to put this book down on several occasions; not because I disliked it, but because it inspired me to pick up a notepad and pencil and try several mathematics questions from nineteenth-century exam papers. The fact that I wanted to explore the book in this way, pick it up and carry on reading, is a real testament to how wonderfully good it really is.

Scottish Mathematical Council Journal The period is a fascinating one and the quality and accessibility of the chapters make for an enjoyable and informative read. And through the fine editing of three more historians, Flood, Rice and Wilson, the book succeeds in eliciting the achievements of British mathematics during those Victorian decades when Britain was in its pomp.

Roman Murawski, Zentralblatt MATH The book can serve various groups of readers: historians of mathematics as well as mathematicians and even general readers. It is published in a very nice and elegant manner with many pictures and diagrams included.

Bruce J. Petrie, Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics Anyone with an interest in history of mathematics, especially British mathematics, will find this text a pleasurable read ... this book should find a place in the personal library of many historians and mathematicians.

<br>Raymond Flood is Emeritus Fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford where, prior to this, he was Vice President. He has worked as a university lecturer in Computing Studies and Mathematics at the Department for Continuing Education, Oxford University and was president of the British Society for the History of Mathematics. <p><br>Adrian Rice is Professor of Mathematics at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, where his research focuses on 19th-century and early 20th-century British mathematics. He is a two-time recipient of the Mathematical Association of America's Tevor Evans Award for outstanding expository writing. <p>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.<br>

Foreword by Adam Hart-Davis; Introduction; 1. Cambridge: the rise and fall of the mathematical tripos; 2. Mathematics in Victorian Oxford: a tale of three professors; 3. Mathematics in the metropolis: a survey of Victorian London; 4. Scotland: land of opportunity but few rewards; 5. Taking root: Mathematics in Victorian Ireland; 6. Wranglers in Exile: mathematics in the British Empire; 7. A voice for mathematics: Victorian mathematical journals and societies; 8. Victorian 'applied mathematics'; 9. Victorian astronomy: the age of the 'Grand Amateur'; 10. Calculating engines: machines, mathematics, and misconceptions; 11. Vital statistics: the measurement of public health; 12. Darwinian variation and the creation of mathematical statistics; 13. Instruction in the calculus and differential equations in Victorian and Edwardian Britain; 14. Geometry: the Euclid debate; 15. Victorian algebra: the freedom to create new mathematical entities; 16. Victorian logic: from Whately to Russell; 17. Combinatorics: a very Victorian recreation; 18. Overstating their case? Reflections on British pure mathematics in the 19th century