John Colson
English clergyman and mathematician (1680–1760)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Colson FRS (1680 – 20 January 1760) was an English clergyman, mathematician, and the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University.
John Colson | |
|---|---|
John Colson by John Wollaston | |
| Born | 1680 |
| Died | 20 January 1760 (aged 79–80) |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
| Known for | Signed-digit representation |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge |
Life
John Colson was educated at Lichfield School before becoming an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford, though he did not complete a degree there. He became a schoolmaster at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School in Rochester, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1713. He was Vicar of Chalk, Kent from 1724 to 1740. He relocated to Cambridge and lectured at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.[1] From 1739 to 1760, he was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. He was also Rector of Lockington, Yorkshire.[2]
Works
In 1726 he published his "Negativo-Affirmativo Arithmetik" , which advocated a modified decimal system of numeration.[3] He proposed "reduction [to] small figures" by "throwing all the large figures out of a given number, and introducing in their room the equivalent small figures respectively". This method of signifying numbers is now called signed-digit representation.[4]
John Colson translated several of Isaac Newton's works into English, including De Methodis Serierum et Fluxionum in 1736.[1]
