George Chrystal

This article is about the Scottish mathematician. For his son, Sir George Chrystal, see George Chrystal (civil servant).

George Chrystal
George Chrystal (1851–1911)
Born	(1851-03-08)8 March 1851 Old Meldrum, Scotland, UK
Died	Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Residence	Scotland, UK
Nationality	Scottish, UK
Fields	Physicist and mathematician
Institutions	University of St Andrews University of Cambridge University of Edinburgh
Alma mater	University of Aberdeen University of Cambridge
Academic advisors	James Clerk Maxwell
Notable students	Joseph Wedderburn
Known for	Experimental verification of Ohm's law
Notable awards	Royal Medal (1911)

File:George Chrystal. Etching by W. Hole, 1884. Wellcome V0001125.jpg

George Chrystal at work. Etching by W. Hole, 1884

George Chrystal FRSE (8 March 1851 – 3 November 1911) was a Scottish mathematician. He is primarily remembered for his books on algebra and for his studies of seiches (wave patterns in large inland bodies of water) which earned him a Gold Medal from the Royal Society of London (sadly confirmed only slightly after his death).

Life

He was born in Old Meldrum on 8 March 1851, the son of William Chrystal a wealthy farmer and grain merchant and his wife, Margaret Burr.

He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and the University of Aberdeen, moving in 1872 to study under James Clerk Maxwell at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he graduated Second wrangler in 1875, joint with William Burnside, and was elected a fellow of Corpus Christi. He was appointed to the Regius Chair of Mathematics at University of St. Andrews in 1877, and then in 1879 to the Chair in Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh. In 1911, he was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society for his researches into the surface oscillations of Scottish lakes.

He was a contributor to the drafting of the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889 and one of the founders of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1880, his proposers including James Clerk Maxwell. He was awarded the Society's Keith Medal for 1879-81 and their Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize for the period 1904-8. He served as Vice President of the Society 1895-1901 and General Secretary 1901-1911. He was awarded two honorary doctorates (LLD): Aberdeen University in 1887 and Glasgow University in 1911. He is credited with instigating the move of the Society from the Mound to George Street.

In later life he is listed as living at 5 Belgrave Crescent in western Edinburgh.

The mathematician Alexander G. Burgess trained under him.

He grew very ill in 1909 and this worsened early in 1911, leading the university to grant him leave of absence from April of that year. A work-free summer did not improve him. He died on 3 November 1911 at 5 Belgrave Crescent in Edinburgh but was taken north for burial, and is buried in Foveran Churchyard in Aberdeenshire.

Family

He married Margaret Anne Balfour in 1879. She died before him. They had four sons and two daughters.

Publications

• (Out of copyright: 1900 and subsequent editions are available in reprint or online.)
• Three articles within the 1911 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica: Pascal, Blaise; Perpetual Motion; and Riemann, Georg Friedrich Bernhard.

External links

• Works written by or about George Chrystal at Wikisource
• .
• Algebra: An Elementary Text-Book for the Higher Classes of Secondary Schools and for Colleges. Volume I, Volume II