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{{short description|English mathematician}}
{{Other persons|Robert Smith}}
{{Other people|Robert Smith}}
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{{Refimprove|biographical article|date=February 2008}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2017}}
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{{Infobox Scientist
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
|box_width = 300px
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{{More citations needed|biographical article|date=February 2008}}
|name = Robert Smith
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{{Infobox scientist
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|image = robertsmith1689-1768.jpg
|image_size = 200px
| name = Robert Smith
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| image = robertsmith1689-1768.jpg
|caption = Robert Smith (1689–1768). Portrait by [[John Vanderbank]], 1730.
|birth_date = c. 16 October 1689
| image_size = 200px
|birth_place = [[Lea, Lincolnshire|Lea]], [[Lincolnshire]], [[England]]
| caption = Portrait by [[John Vanderbank]], 1730
|death_date = 2 February 1768
| birth_date = c. {{birth date|df=yes|1689|10|16}}
|death_place = [[Cambridge]], [[Cambridgeshire]], [[England]]
| birth_place = [[Lea, Lincolnshire|Lea]], Lincolnshire, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1768|02|02|1689|10|16}}
|residence = [[England]]
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| death_place = [[Cambridge]], Cambridgeshire, England
|citizenship =
| citizenship =
|nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
|ethnicity =
| nationality = British
|fields = [[Mathematician]]
| fields = Mathematician
|workplaces = [[Cambridge University]]
| workplaces = [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]
|alma_mater = [[Cambridge University]]
| alma_mater = [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]
|doctoral_advisor = <!--there was no PhD at Cambridge until 1919-->
| doctoral_advisor = <!--there was no PhD at Cambridge until 1919-->
|academic_advisors = [[Roger Cotes]]
| academic_advisors = [[Roger Cotes]]
|doctoral_students = <!--there was no PhD at Cambridge until 1919-->
| doctoral_students = <!--there was no PhD at Cambridge until 1919-->
|notable_students = [[Walter Taylor (mathematician)|Walter Taylor]]</br>[[Israel Lyons]]</br> [[Richard Watson (bishop)|Richard Watson]]
| notable_students = [[Walter Taylor (mathematician)|Walter Taylor]]<br>[[Israel Lyons]]<br> [[Richard Watson (bishop)|Richard Watson]]
|known_for = [[Smith-Helmholtz Equation]]
| known_for = [[Smith–Helmholtz equation]]
| influences =
|author_abbrev_bot =
| influenced =
|author_abbrev_zoo =
|influences =
| awards =
|influenced =
| signature = <!--(filename only)-->
|awards =
| footnotes =
|religion =
|signature = <!--(filename only)-->
|footnotes =
}}
}}


'''Robert Smith''' (1689 &ndash; 2 February 1768) was an [[England|English]] [[mathematician]] and [[music theory|music theorist]].
'''Robert Smith''' (c. 16 October 1689&nbsp;– 2 February 1768) was an English mathematician.


==Life==
==Life==


Smith was probably born at Lea near [[Gainsborough, England|Gainsborough]], the son of the rector of [[Gate Burton]], Lincolnshire. After attending Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Gainsborough (now [[Queen Elizabeth's High School]]) he entered [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], in 1708, and becoming minor fellow in 1714, major fellow in 1715 and senior fellow in 1739, was chosen Master in 1742, in succession to [[Richard Bentley]].<ref>{{Venn|id=SMT708R|name=Smith, Robert}}</ref> From 1716 to 1760 he was [[Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy|Plumian Professor]] of [[Astronomy]], and he died in the Master's Lodge at Trinity.
Smith was probably born at Lea near [[Gainsborough, Lincolnshire|Gainsborough]], the son of John Smith, the rector of [[Gate Burton]], Lincolnshire and his wife Hannah Cotes. After attending Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Gainsborough (now [[Queen Elizabeth's High School]]) he entered [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], in 1708, and becoming minor fellow in 1714, major fellow in 1715 and senior fellow in 1739, was chosen Master in 1742, in succession to [[Richard Bentley]].<ref>{{acad|id=SMT708R|name=Smith, Robert}}</ref> From 1716 to 1760 he was [[Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy|Plumian Professor]] of [[Astronomy]], and he died in the Master's Lodge at Trinity.


In February 1719 he was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www2.royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=35&dsqSearch=%28Surname%3D%27smith%27%29|title= Library and Archive Catalogue|publisher= The Royal Society|accessdate= 19 October 2010}}</ref>
In February 1719 he was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www2.royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=35&dsqSearch=%28Surname%3D%27smith%27%29|title= Library and Archive Catalogue|publisher= The Royal Society|access-date= 19 October 2010}}</ref>


Besides editing two works by his cousin, [[Roger Cotes]], who was his predecessor in the Plumian chair, he published ''A Compleat System of Opticks'' in 1738, which gained him the sobriquet of Old Focus, and ''Harmonics, or the Philosophy of Musical Sounds'' in 1749.
Besides editing two works by his cousin, [[Roger Cotes]], who was his predecessor in the Plumian chair, he published ''A Compleat System of Opticks'' in 1738, which gained him the sobriquet of Old Focus, and ''Harmonics, or the Philosophy of Musical Sounds'' in 1749.


Smith never married but lived with his unmarried sister Elzimar (1683–1758) in the lodge at Trinity College. Although he is often portrayed as a rather reclusive character, [[John Byrom]]'s journal shows that in the 1720s and 1730s Smith could be quite sociable. Yet ill health, particularly gout, took its toll and severely inhibited his academic work and social activities. He died at the lodge on 2 February 1768, and on 8 February he was buried in Trinity College chapel, the funeral oration being delivered by [[Thomas Zouch]].
Smith never married but lived with his unmarried sister Elzimar (1683–1758) in the lodge at Trinity College. Although he is often portrayed as a rather reclusive character, [[John Byrom]]'s journal shows that in the 1720s and 1730s Smith could be quite sociable. Yet ill health, particularly gout, took its toll and severely inhibited his academic work and social activities. He died at the lodge on 2 February 1768, and on 8 February he was buried in [[Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge|Trinity College Chapel]], the funeral oration being delivered by [[Thomas Zouch]].

According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Smith helped to spread [[Isaac Newton]]'s ideas in Europe and "Newton's successes in optics and mechanics dominated Smith's scientific career".


==The Smith Fund==
==The Smith Fund==
In his will Smith left £3500 South Sea stock to the University of Cambridge. The net income on the fund is annually divided equally between the [[Smith's Prize]] and the stipend of the [[Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy|Plumian Professor]].
In his will Smith left £3500 South Sea stock to the University of Cambridge. The net income on the fund is annually divided equally between the [[Smith's Prize]] and the stipend of the [[Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy|Plumian Professor]].


==Books by Robert Smith==
==Books==
[[File:Smith, Robert – Compleat system of opticks, 1767 – BEIC 3889504.jpg|thumb|left|''Compleat system of opticks'', 1767]]
* Robert Smith, ''Harmonics, or, The Philosophy of Musical Sounds,'' Printed by J. Bentham, and sold by W. Thurlbourn, 1749.
* Robert Smith, ''Harmonics, or, The Philosophy of Musical Sounds,'' Printed by J. Bentham, and sold by W. Thurlbourn, 1749.
* Robert Smith, ''A Compleat System of Opticks'', 1738.
* {{cite book | url=https://www.e-rara.ch/zut/content/titleinfo/10886911 | author=Robert Smith | title=A Compleat System of Opticks | location=Cambridge | year=1738 }}
* {{cite book | url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k112971j/f5.item | author=Robert Smith | title=Cours complet d'optique traduit de l'anglois de Robert Smith | year=1768 }}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|30em}}
*[http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=172 The Master of Trinity] at Trinity College, Cambridge
*[http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=172 The Master of Trinity] at Trinity College, Cambridge
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Smith, Robert|volume=25|page=268}}
*{{1911}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.europa.com/~telscope/smith-r.txt "Robert Smith, author of 'A Compleat System of Opticks', 1738."] Peter Abrahams, ed. The history of the telescope & the binocular (2005)
* [http://www.europa.com/~telscope/smith-r.txt "Robert Smith, author of 'A Compleat System of Opticks', 1738."] Peter Abrahams, ed. The history of the telescope & the binocular (2005)
* [http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/russell/instruments/or4a176543/or4a176543.html OR4-A1765.43]: Enharmonic chamber organ, Thomas Parker. London, c.1765. Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments, University of Edinburgh.
* [http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/russell/instruments/or4a176543/or4a176543.html OR4-A1765.43]: Enharmonic chamber organ, Thomas Parker. London, c.1765. Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments, University of Edinburgh.
* [http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/russell/conference/robertsmithkirckman.html "Robert Smith's 'Equal Harmony' and the harpsichord built for it by Jacob Kirckman."] Grant O'Brien. Conference on the Historical Background to the New "Handel" Organ in St Cecilia's Hall. Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments, University of Edinburgh. (1998)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110516061336/http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/russell/conference/robertsmithkirckman.html "Robert Smith's 'Equal Harmony' and the harpsichord built for it by Jacob Kirckman."] Grant O'Brien. Conference on the Historical Background to the New "Handel" Organ in St Cecilia's Hall. Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments, University of Edinburgh. (1998)
* [http://www.harmonics.com/lucy/lsd/rsmith.html Dr. Robert Smith's comments on John Harrison's musical tuning ideas], from ''Harmonics'' (1749)
* [http://www.harmonics.com/lucy/lsd/rsmith.html Dr. Robert Smith's comments on John Harrison's musical tuning ideas], from ''Harmonics'' (1749)
* {{IMSLP|id=Smith, Robert|cname=Robert Smith}}
* {{IMSLP|id=Smith, Robert|cname=Robert Smith}}
* {{MathGenealogy|id=103068}}
* Robert Smith's (1778) [http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/color/id/39711 ''The elementary parts of Dr. Smith's compleat system of opticks''] – digital facsimile from the [[Linda Hall Library]]


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{{succession box |
{{succession box |
before=[[Richard Bentley]] |
before=[[Richard Bentley]] |
title=[[Trinity College, Cambridge|Master of Trinity College, Cambridge]] |
title=[[List of masters of Trinity College, Cambridge|Master of Trinity College, Cambridge]] |
years=1742&ndash;1768 |
years=1742–1768 |
after=[[John Hinchcliffe]]
after=[[John Hinchliffe|John Hinchcliffe]]
}}
}}
{{s-end}}
{{s-end}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->

| NAME = Smith, Robert
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = English mathematician and music theorist
| DATE OF BIRTH = 16 October 1689
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Lea, Lincolnshire|Lea]], [[Lincolnshire]], [[England]]
| DATE OF DEATH = 2 February 1768
⚫
| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Cambridge]], [[Cambridgeshire]], [[England]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Robert}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Robert}}
[[Category:18th-century mathematicians]]
[[Category:18th-century English mathematicians]]
[[Category:English mathematicians]]
[[Category:English music theorists]]
[[Category:English music theorists]]
[[Category:Masters of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Masters of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
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[[Category:1689 births]]
[[Category:1689 births]]
[[Category:1768 deaths]]
[[Category:1768 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Queen Elizabeth's High School]]

[[Category:Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge]]
[[fr:Robert Smith (mathématicien)]]
[[Category:Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[it:Robert Smith (matematico)]]
[[Category:Plumian Professors of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy]]

Latest revision as of 08:00, 17 August 2024

For other people named Robert Smith, see Robert Smith (disambiguation).

Robert Smith
Portrait by John Vanderbank, 1730
Bornc. (1689-10-16)16 October 1689
Lea, Lincolnshire, England
Died2 February 1768(1768-02-02) (aged 78)
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
Known forSmith–Helmholtz equation
Scientific career
FieldsMathematician
InstitutionsTrinity College, Cambridge
Academic advisorsRoger Cotes
Notable studentsWalter Taylor
Israel Lyons
Richard Watson

Robert Smith (c. 16 October 1689 – 2 February 1768) was an English mathematician.

Life

[edit]

Smith was probably born at Lea near Gainsborough, the son of John Smith, the rector of Gate Burton, Lincolnshire and his wife Hannah Cotes. After attending Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Gainsborough (now Queen Elizabeth's High School) he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1708, and becoming minor fellow in 1714, major fellow in 1715 and senior fellow in 1739, was chosen Master in 1742, in succession to Richard Bentley.[1] From 1716 to 1760 he was Plumian Professor of Astronomy, and he died in the Master's Lodge at Trinity.

In February 1719 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.[2]

Besides editing two works by his cousin, Roger Cotes, who was his predecessor in the Plumian chair, he published A Compleat System of Opticks in 1738, which gained him the sobriquet of Old Focus, and Harmonics, or the Philosophy of Musical Sounds in 1749.

Smith never married but lived with his unmarried sister Elzimar (1683–1758) in the lodge at Trinity College. Although he is often portrayed as a rather reclusive character, John Byrom's journal shows that in the 1720s and 1730s Smith could be quite sociable. Yet ill health, particularly gout, took its toll and severely inhibited his academic work and social activities. He died at the lodge on 2 February 1768, and on 8 February he was buried in Trinity College Chapel, the funeral oration being delivered by Thomas Zouch.

According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Smith helped to spread Isaac Newton's ideas in Europe and "Newton's successes in optics and mechanics dominated Smith's scientific career".

The Smith Fund

[edit]

In his will Smith left £3500 South Sea stock to the University of Cambridge. The net income on the fund is annually divided equally between the Smith's Prize and the stipend of the Plumian Professor.

Books

[edit]
Compleat system of opticks, 1767
  • Robert Smith, Harmonics, or, The Philosophy of Musical Sounds, Printed by J. Bentham, and sold by W. Thurlbourn, 1749.
  • Robert Smith (1738). A Compleat System of Opticks. Cambridge.
  • Robert Smith (1768). Cours complet d'optique traduit de l'anglois de Robert Smith.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Smith, Robert (SMT708R)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". The Royal Society. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
[edit]
Academic offices
Preceded by Master of Trinity College, Cambridge
1742–1768 		Succeeded by
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