John Hammersley: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|British mathematician}} |
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{{Infobox scientist |
{{Infobox scientist |
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|name = John Hammersley |
|name = John Hammersley |
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|ethnicity = |
|ethnicity = |
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|fields = |
|fields = |
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|workplaces = [[University of Oxford]]<br/>[[Trinity College, Oxford]] |
|workplaces = [[University of Oxford]]<br />[[Trinity College, Oxford]] |
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|alma_mater = [[Sedbergh School]]<br />[[Emmanuel College, Cambridge]] |
|alma_mater = [[Sedbergh School]]<br />[[Emmanuel College, Cambridge]] |
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|doctoral_advisor = |
|doctoral_advisor = |
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|academic_advisors = Unknown |
|academic_advisors = Unknown |
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|doctoral_students = [[ |
|doctoral_students = [[Jillian Beardwood]]<br />[[Geoffrey Grimmett]]<br />[[Dominic Welsh]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://users.monash.edu.au/~davidwo/files/Hammersley-FamilyTree.pdf |title=The Academic Family Tree of John M. Hammersley |author=David R. Wood|author-link=David Wood (mathematician)}}</ref> |
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|notable_students = |
|notable_students = |
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|known_for = |
|known_for = |
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|footnotes = |
|footnotes = |
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'''John Michael Hammersley''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRS}} (21 March 1920 – 2 May 2004)<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Grimmett | first1 = G. | last2 = Welsh | first2 = D. | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.2007.0001 | title = John Michael Hammersley. 21 March 1920 -- 2 May 2004: Elected FRS 1976 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 53 | pages = 163 | year = 2007 | |
'''John Michael Hammersley''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRS}} (21 March 1920 – 2 May 2004)<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Grimmett | first1 = G. | last2 = Welsh | first2 = D. | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.2007.0001 | title = John Michael Hammersley. 21 March 1920 -- 2 May 2004: Elected FRS 1976 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 53 | pages = 163 | year = 2007 | s2cid = 58778588 }}</ref><ref>{{cite arXiv |eprint=math.PR/0610862 |title=John Michael Hammersley (1920–2004) |author=Geoffrey Grimmett, Dominic Welsh|year=2006 }}</ref> was a British [[mathematician]] best known for his foundational work in the theory of [[self-avoiding walks]] and [[percolation theory]]. |
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==Early life and education== |
==Early life and education== |
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Hammersley was born in [[Helensburgh]] in [[Dunbartonshire]], and educated at [[Sedbergh School]]. He started reading [[mathematics]] at [[Emmanuel College, Cambridge]] but was called up to join the [[Royal Artillery]] in 1941. During his time in the army he worked on [[ballistics]]. He graduated in mathematics in 1948. |
Hammersley was born in [[Helensburgh]] in [[Dunbartonshire]], and educated at [[Sedbergh School]]. He started reading [[mathematics]] at [[Emmanuel College, Cambridge]] but was called up to join the [[Royal Artillery]] in 1941. During his time in the army he worked on [[ballistics]]. He graduated in mathematics in 1948. He never studied for a PhD but was awarded an ScD by Cambridge University and a DSc by Oxford University in 1959. |
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==Academic career== |
==Academic career== |
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[[File:Hammersley-Kesten.tif|thumb|left|350px|John Hammersley (left) with [[Harry Kesten]] in the Mathematical Institute, [[Oxford University]], 1993]] |
[[File:Hammersley-Kesten.tif|thumb|left|350px|John Hammersley (left) with [[Harry Kesten]] in the Mathematical Institute, [[Oxford University]], 1993]] |
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With [[Jillian Beardwood]] and J.H. Halton, Hammersley is known for the Beardwood-Halton-Hammersley Theorem. Published by the [[Cambridge Philosophical Society]] in a 1959 article entitled “The Shortest Path Through Many Points,” the theorem provides a practical solution to the “[[traveling salesman problem]].”<ref>{{Cite journal| |
With [[Jillian Beardwood]] and J.H. Halton, Hammersley is known for the Beardwood-Halton-Hammersley Theorem. Published by the [[Cambridge Philosophical Society]] in a 1959 article entitled “The Shortest Path Through Many Points,” the theorem provides a practical solution to the “[[traveling salesman problem]].”<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Beardwood|first1=Jillian|last2=Halton|first2=J. H.|last3=Hammersley|first3=J. M.|date=October 1959|title=The shortest path through many points|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0305004100034095/type/journal_article|journal=Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society|language=en|volume=55|issue=4|pages=299–327|doi=10.1017/S0305004100034095|bibcode=1959PCPS...55..299B|issn=0305-0041}}</ref> |
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He held a number of positions, both in and outside academia. His book ''Monte Carlo Methods'' with David Handscomb was published in 1964. He is known for |
He held a number of positions, both in and outside academia. His book ''Monte Carlo Methods'' with David Handscomb was published in 1964. He is known for devising an early solution to the [[moving sofa problem]] in 1968. |
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He was an advocate of [[problem solving]], and an opponent of abstraction in mathematics, taking part in the [[New |
He was an advocate of [[problem solving]], and an opponent of abstraction in mathematics, taking part in the [[New Math]] debate. |
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He was a |
He was a fellow (later professorial fellow) of [[Trinity College, Oxford]], from 1961, [[Reader (academic rank)|reader]] in mathematical statistics at [[Oxford University]] from 1969, and elected [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] (FRS) in 1976. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Constructions of low-discrepancy sequences# |
* [[Constructions of low-discrepancy sequences#Hammersley set|Hammersley set]] |
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* [[Hammersley-Clifford theorem]] |
* [[Hammersley-Clifford theorem]] |
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* [[Low-discrepancy sequence]] |
* [[Low-discrepancy sequence]] |
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[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]] |
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]] |
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[[Category:Probability theorists]] |
[[Category:Probability theorists]] |
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[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]] |
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[[Category:Royal Artillery officers]] |
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Latest revision as of 09:21, 24 February 2023
John Hammersley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | 21 March 1920 Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, Scotland |
| Died | 2 May 2004 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Sedbergh School Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Oxford Trinity College, Oxford |
| Academic advisors | Unknown |
| Doctoral students | Jillian Beardwood Geoffrey Grimmett Dominic Welsh[1] |
John Michael Hammersley, FRS (21 March 1920 – 2 May 2004)[2][3] was a British mathematician best known for his foundational work in the theory of self-avoiding walks and percolation theory.
Early life and education
[edit]Hammersley was born in Helensburgh in Dunbartonshire, and educated at Sedbergh School. He started reading mathematics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge but was called up to join the Royal Artillery in 1941. During his time in the army he worked on ballistics. He graduated in mathematics in 1948. He never studied for a PhD but was awarded an ScD by Cambridge University and a DSc by Oxford University in 1959.
Academic career
[edit]
With Jillian Beardwood and J.H. Halton, Hammersley is known for the Beardwood-Halton-Hammersley Theorem. Published by the Cambridge Philosophical Society in a 1959 article entitled “The Shortest Path Through Many Points,” the theorem provides a practical solution to the “traveling salesman problem.”[4]
He held a number of positions, both in and outside academia. His book Monte Carlo Methods with David Handscomb was published in 1964. He is known for devising an early solution to the moving sofa problem in 1968.
He was an advocate of problem solving, and an opponent of abstraction in mathematics, taking part in the New Math debate.
He was a fellow (later professorial fellow) of Trinity College, Oxford, from 1961, reader in mathematical statistics at Oxford University from 1969, and elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1976.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ David R. Wood. "The Academic Family Tree of John M. Hammersley" (PDF).
- ^ Grimmett, G.; Welsh, D. (2007). "John Michael Hammersley. 21 March 1920 -- 2 May 2004: Elected FRS 1976". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 53: 163. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2007.0001. S2CID 58778588.
- ^ Geoffrey Grimmett, Dominic Welsh (2006). "John Michael Hammersley (1920–2004)". arXiv:math.PR/0610862.
- ^ Beardwood, Jillian; Halton, J. H.; Hammersley, J. M. (October 1959). "The shortest path through many points". Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 55 (4): 299–327. Bibcode:1959PCPS...55..299B. doi:10.1017/S0305004100034095. ISSN 0305-0041.
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