W. W. Rouse Ball
Encyclopedia
Walter William Rouse Ball (14 August 1850 – 4 April 1925) was a British
mathematician
, lawyer and a fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge
from 1878 to 1905. He was also a keen amateur magician, and the founding president of the Cambridge Pentacle Club
in 1919, one of the world's oldest such societies.
, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1870, became a scholar and first Smith's Prize
man, and gained his BA in 1874 as second Wrangler. He became a Fellow of Trinity in 1875, and remained one for the rest of his life.
He is buried at the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground
in Cambridge.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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....
, lawyer and a fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
from 1878 to 1905. He was also a keen amateur magician, and the founding president of the Cambridge Pentacle Club
Pentacle Club
The Pentacle Club is one of the world's oldest magic societies, famous amongst amateur and professional magicians for its long history and sequence of famous members.-Origins:...
in 1919, one of the world's oldest such societies.
Life
Walter William Rouse Ball was the son and heir of Walter Frederick, of 3, St John's Park Villas, South Hampstead, London. Educated at University College SchoolUniversity College School
University College School, generally known as UCS, is an Independent school charity situated in Hampstead, north west London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views...
, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1870, became a scholar and first Smith's Prize
Smith's Prize
The Smith's Prize was the name of each of two prizes awarded annually to two research students in theoretical Physics, mathematics and applied mathematics at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England.- History :...
man, and gained his BA in 1874 as second Wrangler. He became a Fellow of Trinity in 1875, and remained one for the rest of his life.
He is buried at the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground
Ascension Parish Burial Ground, Cambridge
The Ascension Parish Burial Ground, formerly St Giles and St Peter's Parish, is a cemetery just off Huntingdon Road near the junction with Storey's Way in the northwest of Cambridge, England. It includes the graves of many Cambridge academics and non-conformists of the 19th and early 20th century...
in Cambridge.
Books
- A History of the Study of Mathematics at Cambridge; Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, 1889 (reissued by the publisher, 2009, ISBN 9781108002073) (1st ed. 1888 and later editions) (1st ed. 1892; later editions with H.S.M. Coxeter) - A History of the First Trinity Boat Club (1908)
- String Figures; Cambridge, W. Heffer & Sons (1st ed. 1920, 2nd ed. 1921, 3rd ed. 1929, reprinted with supplements as Fun with String Figures by Dover PublicationsDover PublicationsDover Publications is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward Cirker and his wife, Blanche. It publishes primarily reissues, books no longer published by their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books in the public domain. The original published editions may be...
, 1971, ISBN 0486228096)
See also
- Rouse Ball Professor of MathematicsRouse Ball Professor of MathematicsThe Rouse Ball Professorship of Mathematics is one of the senior chairs in the Mathematics Departments at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. The two positions were founded in 1927 by a bequest from the mathematician W. W. Rouse Ball...
- Rouse Ball Professor of English LawRouse Ball Professor of English LawThe Rouse Ball Professorship of English Law is one of the senior professorships in English Law at the University of Cambridge, and was founded in 1927 by a bequest from the mathematician Rouse Ball.-Rouse Ball Professors:* Percy Henry Winfield...
- Martin GardnerMartin GardnerMartin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature , philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion...
: another author of recreational mathematics.