Sheila Scott Macintyre
Encyclopedia
Sheila Scott Macintyre was a Scottish
mathematician
well known for her work on the Whittaker constant. Macintyre is also well known for creating a multilingual
scientific
dictionary
: written
in English
, German
, and Russian
; at the time of her death, she was working on Japanese
.
and a housewife, young Sheila studied at the Edinburgh Ladies' College (1926-28), where she was acknowledged as the best student in mathematics and in general. She continued at the University of Edinburgh
, graduating in 1932, and published her first paper, on the asymptotic periods of integral
function
s, in 1935. She also studied at Girton College.
Professor Edmund Whittaker introduced Scott to Archibald James Macintyre, a professor from the University of Aberdeen
who had earned a doctorate at Cambridge University. The two married in 1940 and the couple had three children: Alister William Macintyre (born 1944), Douglas (born 1946 - died 1948) and Susan Elizabeth Macintyre Cantey (born 1950). In 1941 Sheila Scott Macintyre began teaching at Aberdeen, filling in for faculty serving in the war. While pregnant with her second child, Sheila Macintyre stopped teaching but continued work on a thesis on Some problems in interpolatory function theory and received her PhD
from Aberdeen in 1947. She returned to teaching at Kings College in Aberdeen later on however.
In 1958, the Macintyres emigrated to the USA Cincinnati, and both taught at the University of Cincinnati
. Also in 1958, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
.
Sheila Macintyre died in 1960 after a long battle with breast cancer.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
well known for her work on the Whittaker constant. Macintyre is also well known for creating a multilingual
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
scientific
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
: written
Writing
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
; at the time of her death, she was working on Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
.
Biography
Born of the rector of Trinity AcademyTrinity Academy
Trinity Academy is a state-run secondary school in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the border between the upscale leafy suburb of Trinity and Leith, next to Victoria Park, and a short distance from the banks of the Firth of Forth at Newhaven.-Admissions:Trinity Academy was...
and a housewife, young Sheila studied at the Edinburgh Ladies' College (1926-28), where she was acknowledged as the best student in mathematics and in general. She continued at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, graduating in 1932, and published her first paper, on the asymptotic periods of integral
Integral
Integration is an important concept in mathematics and, together with its inverse, differentiation, is one of the two main operations in calculus...
function
Function (mathematics)
In mathematics, a function associates one quantity, the argument of the function, also known as the input, with another quantity, the value of the function, also known as the output. A function assigns exactly one output to each input. The argument and the value may be real numbers, but they can...
s, in 1935. She also studied at Girton College.
Professor Edmund Whittaker introduced Scott to Archibald James Macintyre, a professor from the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
who had earned a doctorate at Cambridge University. The two married in 1940 and the couple had three children: Alister William Macintyre (born 1944), Douglas (born 1946 - died 1948) and Susan Elizabeth Macintyre Cantey (born 1950). In 1941 Sheila Scott Macintyre began teaching at Aberdeen, filling in for faculty serving in the war. While pregnant with her second child, Sheila Macintyre stopped teaching but continued work on a thesis on Some problems in interpolatory function theory and received her PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from Aberdeen in 1947. She returned to teaching at Kings College in Aberdeen later on however.
In 1958, the Macintyres emigrated to the USA Cincinnati, and both taught at the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
. Also in 1958, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
.
Sheila Macintyre died in 1960 after a long battle with breast cancer.
External links
- "Sheila Scott Macintyre", Biographies of Women Mathematicians, Agnes Scott CollegeAgnes Scott CollegeAgnes Scott College is a private undergraduate college in the United States. Agnes Scott's campus lies in downtown Decatur, Georgia, nestled inside the perimeter of the bustling metro-Atlanta area....