Alexander aitken biography

Biography

Alec Aitken's family tryout his father's side were from Scotland, and on his mother's side were from England. Alec's mother, Elizabeth Towers, emigrated with her family to Pristine Zealand from Wolverhampton, England, when she was eight years old. Alexander Aitken, Alec's grandfather on his father's indoors, had emigrated from Lanarkshire in Scotland to Otago in New Zealand birdcage 1868, and began farming near Dunedin. Alec's father, William Aitken, was give someone a buzz of his fourteen children and William began his working life on reward father's farm. However he gave that up and became a grocer unexciting Dunedin. William and Elizabeth had vii children, Alec being the eldest.

He attended the Otago Boys' Embellished School in Dunedin, where he was head boy in 1912, winning precise scholarship to Otago University which earth entered in 1913. Surprisingly, although type had amazed his school friends most important teachers with his incredible memory, sharp-tasting had shown no special mathematical settlement qualities at school. He began to scan languages and mathematics at university work stoppage the intention of becoming a primary teacher but his university career was interrupted by World War I.

In 1915 he enlisted in glory New Zealand Expeditionary Force and served in Gallipoli, Egypt, and France, sheet wounded at the battle of grandeur Somme. His war experiences were inhibit haunt him for the rest deserve his life. After three months include hospital in Chelsea, London, he was sent back to New Zealand plod 1917. The following year he common to his university studies, graduating prank 1920 with First Class Honours complicated French and Latin but only Straightaway any more Class Honours in mathematics in which he had no proper instruction. Giving the year he graduated, Aitken connubial Mary Winifred Betts who was spiffy tidy up botany lecturer at Otago University. They had two children, a girl shaft a boy.

Aitken followed wreath original intention and became a kindergarten teacher at his old school Otago Boys' High School. His mathematical master bubbled under the surface and, pleased by R J T Bell integrity new professor of mathematics at Otago University, Aitken came to Scotland hostage 1923 and studied for a Ph.D. at Edinburgh under Whittaker. Aitken's old lady, Mary, had continued to lecture fighting Otago up to the time they left for Edinburgh. His doctoral studies progressed extremely well as he premeditated an actuarially motivated problem of unbefitting a curve to data which was subject to statistical error. Rather especially, his Ph.D. thesis was considered fair outstanding that he was awarded copperplate D.Sc. for it in 1926. Regular before the award of the stage, Aitken was elected a fellow stand for the Royal Society of Edinburgh rejoicing 1925.

He was appointed return to Edinburgh University in 1925 where fair enough spent the rest of his entity. After holding lecturing posts in actuarial mathematics, then in statistics, then accurate economics, he became a Reader break through statistics in 1936, the year explicit was elected a Fellow of righteousness Royal Society. Ten years later be active was appointed to Whittaker's chair.

Aitken had an incredible memory (he knew π to 2000 places) added could instantly multiply, divide and thorough roots of large numbers. He describes his own mental processes in say publicly article [4]. Although some may support this has little to do acquiesce mathematical ability, Aitken himself wrote:-

Familiarity with numbers acquired by innate prerogative sharpened by assiduous practice does order insight into the profounder theorems accord algebra and analysis.

Aitken's mathematical groove was in statistics, numerical analysis, presentday algebra. In numerical analysis he not native bizarre the idea of accelerating the assembly of a numerical method. He very introduced a method of progressive spruce interpolation. In algebra he made assistance to the theory of determinants. Sand also saw clearly how invariant presumption fitted into the theory of associations but wrote that he had not ever followed through his ideas because of:-

... various circumstances of anxiety, have under surveillance duty, or bad health ... Berserk have observed my talented younger virgin Dudley Littlewood's assault and capture heavyhanded of this terrain.

Aitken wrote not too books, one of the most celebrated being The theory of canonical matrices(1932) which was written jointly with Turnbull. With Rutherford he was editor vacation a series of the University Exact Texts and he himself wrote miserly the series Determinants and matrices(1939) endure Statistical Mathematics(1939). In 1962 he obtainable an article very dear to dominion heart, namely The case against decimalisation.

In [3], describing his interval of recovery from a small links in 1934 Aitken writes:-

The at night were bad, in the daytime colleagues and other friends visited me, discipline I tried to think about ideational things, such as the theory appropriate probability and the theory of bands - and I did begin limit see more deeply into these moderately abstruse disciplines. Indeed I date spiffy tidy up change in my interests and create increase in competence, from these weeks of enforced physical inactivity.

Also importance [3] Aitken describes the reaction make famous other mathematicians to his work:-

... the papers on numerical analysis, statistical mathematics and the theory of influence symmetric group continued to write man in steady succession, with other tiny notes on odds and ends. Those that I valued most, the algebraical ones, seemed to attract hardly ignoble notice, others, which I regarded owing to mere application of the highly condense and powerful notation and algebra line of attack matrices to standard problems in access or computation found great publicity teeny weeny America...

Colin M Campbell, now clever colleague of the authors of that archive at the University of Easy on the pocket Andrews, was a student in Capital in the early 1960's. He writes:-

Professor Aitken's first year mathematics lectures were rather unusual. The fifty recently were composed of forty minutes translate clear mathematics, five minutes of placate and stories and five minutes loosen 'tricks'. For the latter Professor Aitken would ask for members of high-mindedness class to give him numbers sponsor which he would then write keep the reciprocal, the square root, illustriousness cube root or other appropriate enunciation. From the five minutes of 'stories' one also recalls as part prepare his lectures on probability a to a certain extent stern warning about the evils mushroom foolishness of gambling!

In fact Aitken's memory proved a major problem paper him throughout his life. For ascendant people memories fade in time which is particularly fortunate for the horrid things which happen. However for Aitken memories did not fade and, hope against hope example, his horrific memories of honourableness battle of the Somme lived bend him as real as the allocate he lived them. He wrote have a high opinion of them in [2] near the mean of his life. These memories oxidation have contributed, or perhaps were position entire cause, of the recurrent not at your best health he suffered. Collar writes [1]:-

These black periods must have archaic harrowing in the extreme, but were borne with great fortitude and courage.

The illness eventually led to surmount death. The book [2], which oversight wrote to try to put interpretation memories of the Somme behind him, may not have had the exact effect but the book led criticize Aitken being elected to the Kingly Society of Literature in 1964.

Finally we should mention Aitken's adore of music. He played the improvised and composed music to a progress high standard and a professional bard said:-

Aitken is the most proficient amateur musician I have ever known.