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William Mollison (mathematician)

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William Mollison
38th Master of Clare College, Cambridge
In office
March 1915 – March 1929
Preceded byEdward Atkinson
Succeeded byGodfrey Wilson
Personal details
Born(1851-09-19)19 September 1851
Aberdeen, Scotland
Died10 March 1929(1929-03-10) (aged 77)
London, England
Resting placeAscension Parish Burial Ground, Cambridge
SpouseEllen Mayhew
ChildrenThree
EducationAberdeen Grammar School
Alma materUniversity of Aberdeen
Clare College, Cambridge

William Loudon Mollison (19 September 1851 – 10 March 1929)[1] was a Scottish mathematician and academic.[2] From 1915 to 1929, he was Master of Clare College, Cambridge.[3]

Early life and education

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Mollison was born on 19 September 1851 in Aberdeen, Scotland.[4][5] He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School, then an all-boys grammar school.[6] He studied mathematics and natural philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, graduating in 1872 with a first class degree.[7] That year, he was awarded the Ferguson Scholarship by Aberdeen and matriculated into Clare College, Cambridge to continue his mathematical studies.[4][6] He became a Foundation Scholar in 1873.[4] His private tutor while at Cambridge was Edward Routh.[8] He graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1876 as the Second Wrangler.[4][8][9]

Career

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On 29 April 1876, Mollison was elected a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge.[10] He was an examiner for the University of St Andrews between 1876 and 1880.[5] He was a mathematics lecturer at Jesus College, Cambridge from 1877 to 1882, and at Clare College from 1882.[6] In addition to his college teaching, he was a private tutor or "coach" in mathematics.[4]

Due to ill health, he moved from teaching a large number of students, privately and through his college, into administration.[4] He was appointed junior tutor of Clare College in 1880,[6] and was made its senior tutor in May 1894.[11] He was elected a member of the Council of the Senate of the University Of Cambridge in 1892,[4] and appointed Secretary of the General Board of Studies of the University in 1904: he stepped down from both these posts in 1920.[6] He served as locum tenens for the then Master (Edward Atkinson) from 1913 to 1915.[6] Mollison was unanimously elected as Atkinson successor as the 38th Master of Clare College, Cambridge in March 1915.[12]

Personal life

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Mollison was married to Ellen Mayhew.[6] They had one son and two daughters,[13][1] one of whom pre-deceased him.[1][6] His wife died in 1917, and he provided the endowment for the Mayhew Prize, a mathematics prize awarded by the University of Cambridge, in her honour.[6] His son, William Mayhew Mollison, was a distinguished ear, nose and throat surgeon,[14] and his son Patrick Mollison, a noted haematologist.[15]

Mollison died on 10 March 1929 in London, England; he was aged 77.[7][6] His funeral was held at the chapel of Clare College, Cambridge,[4] and he was buried in the Ascension Parish Burial Ground alongside his wife.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c { The Times (London, England), Monday,  11 March 1929; pg. 21; Issue 45148.}
  2. ^ "Mollison, William Loudon". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 1920–2016 (April 2014 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 18 November 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900, John Venn/John Archibald Venn Cambridge University Press > (10 volumes 1922 to 1953) Part II. 1752–1900 Vol. iv. Kahlenberg – Oyler, (1947) p434
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Knewstubb, Peter (2012). "William Loudon Mollison (1851–1929)" (PDF). Clare Association Annual: 65–67. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  5. ^ a b The New International Year Book. New York City, NY: Dodd, Mead and Company. 1930. p. 581.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Mollison, William Loudon". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U214230. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Births, Deaths, Marriages and Obituaries – Master of Clare". Aberdeen Press and Journal. No. 23148. 12 March 1929. p. 11.
  8. ^ a b "CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY – Mathematical Tripos". The Leeds Mercury. No. 11795. 29 January 1876.
  9. ^ Tanner, Joseph Robson (1917). The historical register of the University of Cambridge, being a supplement to the Calendar with a record of University offices, honours and distinctions to the year 1910 (PDF). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Scotchmen at Cambridge University". The Dundee Courier & Argus. No. 7103. 1 May 1876.
  11. ^ "The Tutorship of Clare". Cambridge Independent Press. No. 4065. 4 May 1894. p. 5.
  12. ^ "New Master of Clare". Cambridge Independent Press. No. 5155. 2 April 1915. p. 5.
  13. ^ "1891 Census Swanage, Dorset, England RG12/1641 page 2". Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Mollison, William Mayhew (1878–1967)". Plarr's Lives of the Fellows. The Royal College of Surgeons of England. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Professor Patrick Mollison". The Daily Telegraph. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
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