{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"startTime":0.32,"endTime":2.14,"body":"- Well good afternoon, everybody."},{"startTime":2.14,"endTime":3.8,"body":"And welcome to this book launch"},{"startTime":3.8,"endTime":6.48,"body":"of \"Oxford's Savilian"},{"startTime":3.8,"endTime":6.48,"body":"Professors of Geometry,\""},{"startTime":6.48,"endTime":9.62,"body":"both to those of you here"},{"startTime":6.48,"endTime":9.62,"body":"at Barnard's Inn Hall,"},{"startTime":9.62,"endTime":12.3,"body":"and those of you who are watching online."},{"startTime":12.3,"endTime":14.01,"body":"This book was published"},{"startTime":14.01,"endTime":16.88,"body":"by Oxford University Press in January."},{"startTime":16.88,"endTime":19.43,"body":"Now I was wondering how many"},{"startTime":16.88,"endTime":19.43,"body":"of these five professors,"},{"startTime":19.43,"endTime":22.62,"body":"Savilian professors, can you recognize?"},{"startTime":22.62,"endTime":24.1,"body":"If you can't recognize them all,"},{"startTime":24.1,"endTime":25.81,"body":"you should probably stay here,"},{"startTime":25.81,"endTime":28.26,"body":"because today you'll be"},{"startTime":25.81,"endTime":28.26,"body":"meeting all 20 of them,"},{"startTime":28.26,"endTime":30.653,"body":"covering a period of 400 years."},{"startTime":33.67,"endTime":36.1,"body":"So the authors for this edited"},{"startTime":33.67,"endTime":36.1,"body":"book are all acknowledged"},{"startTime":36.1,"endTime":38.45,"body":"as experts in the history of mathematics,"},{"startTime":38.45,"endTime":40.09,"body":"and their chapters are illustrated"},{"startTime":40.09,"endTime":42.86,"body":"by over 130 pictorial images,"},{"startTime":42.86,"endTime":44.973,"body":"many of which you'll see today."},{"startTime":46.45,"endTime":49.12,"body":"Our journey begins as"},{"startTime":46.45,"endTime":49.12,"body":"Henry Savile's founding"},{"startTime":49.12,"endTime":51.92,"body":"of his Chairs of Geometry and Astronomy,"},{"startTime":51.92,"endTime":54.77,"body":"as related by William"},{"startTime":51.92,"endTime":54.77,"body":"Poole of New College,"},{"startTime":54.77,"endTime":58.92,"body":"the Oxford College now associated"},{"startTime":54.77,"endTime":58.92,"body":"with the Savilian chairs,"},{"startTime":58.92,"endTime":61.6,"body":"and also of Oxford's history faculty."},{"startTime":61.6,"endTime":63.46,"body":"And also from the same faculty,"},{"startTime":63.46,"endTime":66.1,"body":"are Philip Beeley and Benjamin Wardhaugh,"},{"startTime":66.1,"endTime":67.88,"body":"who have written on John Wallis"},{"startTime":67.88,"endTime":71.483,"body":"who was Savilian professor for"},{"startTime":67.88,"endTime":71.483,"body":"over 50 years, as you'll see."},{"startTime":73.97,"endTime":77.19,"body":"Wallis' successor was"},{"startTime":73.97,"endTime":77.19,"body":"Edmond Halley, or Halley,"},{"startTime":77.19,"endTime":79.1,"body":"of Halley's Comet fame,"},{"startTime":79.1,"endTime":81.38,"body":"the first of the"},{"startTime":79.1,"endTime":81.38,"body":"succession of astronomers,"},{"startTime":81.38,"endTime":84.07,"body":"as described by Allan"},{"startTime":81.38,"endTime":84.07,"body":"Chapman of Wadham College,"},{"startTime":84.07,"endTime":86.99,"body":"and Chris Hollings of Oxford's"},{"startTime":84.07,"endTime":86.99,"body":"Mathematical Institute"},{"startTime":86.99,"endTime":88.743,"body":"and The Queen's College."},{"startTime":89.94,"endTime":92.51,"body":"These then take us to"},{"startTime":89.94,"endTime":92.51,"body":"the Victorian period,"},{"startTime":92.51,"endTime":94.62,"body":"where three Savilian professors,"},{"startTime":94.62,"endTime":98.63,"body":"Baden Powell, Henry Smith,"},{"startTime":94.62,"endTime":98.63,"body":"and James Joseph Sylvester"},{"startTime":98.63,"endTime":101.66,"body":"are introduced by Keith"},{"startTime":98.63,"endTime":101.66,"body":"Hannabuss of Balliol College"},{"startTime":101.66,"endTime":104.643,"body":"and Karen Parshall of the"},{"startTime":101.66,"endTime":104.643,"body":"University of Virginia."},{"startTime":106.8,"endTime":109.22,"body":"Then moving on to the 20th century,"},{"startTime":109.22,"endTime":113.91,"body":"we meet G.H. Hardy, and his"},{"startTime":109.22,"endTime":113.91,"body":"successor, Edward Titchmarsh,"},{"startTime":113.91,"endTime":116.5,"body":"while Frances Kirwan, the"},{"startTime":113.91,"endTime":116.5,"body":"current Savilian professor"},{"startTime":116.5,"endTime":120.01,"body":"of geometry has written about"},{"startTime":116.5,"endTime":120.01,"body":"her doctoral supervisor,"},{"startTime":120.01,"endTime":123.09,"body":"Michael Atiyah, and his successors."},{"startTime":123.09,"endTime":125.51,"body":"And Mark McCartney of"},{"startTime":123.09,"endTime":125.51,"body":"the University of Ulster"},{"startTime":125.51,"endTime":128.083,"body":"has interviewed her"},{"startTime":125.51,"endTime":128.083,"body":"predecessor, Nigel Hitchin."},{"startTime":129.93,"endTime":133.18,"body":"Incidentally, Mark"},{"startTime":129.93,"endTime":133.18,"body":"McCartney and Chris Hollings"},{"startTime":133.18,"endTime":135.75,"body":"are currently editing a companion volume"},{"startTime":135.75,"endTime":139.263,"body":"on Oxford's Sedleian professors"},{"startTime":135.75,"endTime":139.263,"body":"of natural philosophy."},{"startTime":144.27,"endTime":147.66,"body":"So here are the first"},{"startTime":144.27,"endTime":147.66,"body":"nine geometry professors,"},{"startTime":147.66,"endTime":150.79,"body":"taking us through the"},{"startTime":147.66,"endTime":150.79,"body":"17th and 18th centuries,"},{"startTime":150.79,"endTime":153.111,"body":"and into the 19th."},{"startTime":153.111,"endTime":157.98,"body":"And a few of them, such as"},{"startTime":153.111,"endTime":157.98,"body":"Briggs, Wallis, and Halley,"},{"startTime":157.98,"endTime":160.88,"body":"would become familiar"},{"startTime":157.98,"endTime":160.88,"body":"names, as you'll see,"},{"startTime":160.88,"endTime":163.053,"body":"while some others are largely forgotten."},{"startTime":166.02,"endTime":168.093,"body":"So how did the professorship start?"},{"startTime":171.53,"endTime":176.53,"body":"Henry Savile was born in 1549,"},{"startTime":171.53,"endTime":176.53,"body":"and had an eventful career,"},{"startTime":176.57,"endTime":180.48,"body":"eventually becoming both"},{"startTime":176.57,"endTime":180.48,"body":"provost of Eton College"},{"startTime":180.48,"endTime":182.903,"body":"and warden of Merton College in Oxford."},{"startTime":184.21,"endTime":187.15,"body":"The author of an eight-volume"},{"startTime":184.21,"endTime":187.15,"body":"history of St. Chrysostom,"},{"startTime":187.15,"endTime":191.66,"body":"and other scholarly works, his"},{"startTime":187.15,"endTime":191.66,"body":"first love was mathematics."},{"startTime":191.66,"endTime":196.66,"body":"And here you see his"},{"startTime":191.66,"endTime":196.66,"body":"capacious chesta mathematica,"},{"startTime":197.13,"endTime":200.6,"body":"his mathematical chest for"},{"startTime":197.13,"endTime":200.6,"body":"his books and manuscripts,"},{"startTime":200.6,"endTime":202.323,"body":"now in the Bodleian Library."},{"startTime":203.7,"endTime":206.59,"body":"And on the right is his"},{"startTime":203.7,"endTime":206.59,"body":"magnificent memorial"},{"startTime":206.59,"endTime":209.06,"body":"in the ante-chapel of Merton College,"},{"startTime":209.06,"endTime":212.18,"body":"where he is flanked by Euclid and Ptolemy,"},{"startTime":212.18,"endTime":215.33,"body":"whose writings he expounded at Oxford."},{"startTime":215.33,"endTime":218.69,"body":"While below, you can see some"},{"startTime":215.33,"endTime":218.69,"body":"handwritten lecture notes"},{"startTime":218.69,"endTime":223.19,"body":"on astronomy with"},{"startTime":218.69,"endTime":223.19,"body":"Ptolemy's work on the left"},{"startTime":223.19,"endTime":227.743,"body":"and Copernicus' then very"},{"startTime":223.19,"endTime":227.743,"body":"recent work on the right."},{"startTime":233.458,"endTime":235.73,"body":"In 1619, Henry Savile founded"},{"startTime":235.73,"endTime":237.91,"body":"his chairs of geometry and astronomy"},{"startTime":237.91,"endTime":240.24,"body":"for persons of character and repute"},{"startTime":240.24,"endTime":241.97,"body":"from any part of Christendom,"},{"startTime":241.97,"endTime":245.213,"body":"well-skilled in mathematics"},{"startTime":241.97,"endTime":245.213,"body":"and 26 years of age."},{"startTime":246.28,"endTime":249.29,"body":"For the geometry chair,"},{"startTime":246.28,"endTime":249.29,"body":"John Aubrey has recorded,"},{"startTime":249.29,"endTime":250.7,"body":"as you see here,"},{"startTime":250.7,"endTime":254.4,"body":"that Savile first sent"},{"startTime":250.7,"endTime":254.4,"body":"for Mr. Gunter from London"},{"startTime":254.4,"endTime":257.34,"body":"to have been his professor of geometry."},{"startTime":257.34,"endTime":260.93,"body":"So he came and brought with"},{"startTime":257.34,"endTime":260.93,"body":"him his sector and quadrant,"},{"startTime":260.93,"endTime":264.16,"body":"shown on the left, and fell"},{"startTime":260.93,"endTime":264.16,"body":"to resolving of triangles"},{"startTime":264.16,"endTime":266.403,"body":"and doing a great many fine things."},{"startTime":267.37,"endTime":268.87,"body":"Said the grave knight, Savile."},{"startTime":269.717,"endTime":271.7,"body":"\"Do you call reading of geometry?"},{"startTime":271.7,"endTime":273.87,"body":"This is showing of tricks, man.\""},{"startTime":273.87,"endTime":275.8,"body":"And so dismissed him with scorn,"},{"startTime":275.8,"endTime":278.033,"body":"and sent for Henry Briggs from Cambridge."},{"startTime":281.15,"endTime":283.79,"body":"But Henry Briggs was, by then in London,"},{"startTime":283.79,"endTime":288.653,"body":"as the first professor of"},{"startTime":283.79,"endTime":288.653,"body":"geometry at Gresham College."},{"startTime":289.71,"endTime":291.44,"body":"Gresham College had been established"},{"startTime":291.44,"endTime":294.1,"body":"to present free lectures"},{"startTime":291.44,"endTime":294.1,"body":"to the general public,"},{"startTime":294.1,"endTime":296.773,"body":"as it still does over 400 years later."},{"startTime":298.01,"endTime":300.15,"body":"And while at Gresham College,"},{"startTime":300.15,"endTime":302.46,"body":"Briggs studied eclipses and navigation,"},{"startTime":302.46,"endTime":306.07,"body":"and he later produced"},{"startTime":302.46,"endTime":306.07,"body":"the map of North America"},{"startTime":306.07,"endTime":307.983,"body":"that you can see on the right."},{"startTime":310.21,"endTime":312.58,"body":"He also became obsessed by the new"},{"startTime":312.58,"endTime":315.53,"body":"and admirable logarithms of John Napier,"},{"startTime":315.53,"endTime":317.51,"body":"shown here below on the left,"},{"startTime":317.51,"endTime":319.89,"body":"designed to simplify calculations"},{"startTime":319.89,"endTime":323.59,"body":"by replacing multiplication and divisions"},{"startTime":323.59,"endTime":327.19,"body":"by the rather simpler"},{"startTime":323.59,"endTime":327.19,"body":"additions and subtractions."},{"startTime":327.19,"endTime":328.957,"body":"And as Briggs enthused,"},{"startTime":328.957,"endTime":331.51,"body":"\"I never saw a book"},{"startTime":328.957,"endTime":331.51,"body":"which pleased me better"},{"startTime":331.51,"endTime":333.167,"body":"and made me more wonder.\""},{"startTime":335.41,"endTime":338.42,"body":"But Napier's tables were clumsy to use,"},{"startTime":338.42,"endTime":340.52,"body":"and Briggs introduced his more practical"},{"startTime":340.52,"endTime":342.74,"body":"logarithms to base 10."},{"startTime":342.74,"endTime":345.113,"body":"Producing first, the tables in the middle,"},{"startTime":346.31,"endTime":351.31,"body":"and then in 1624, by which"},{"startTime":346.31,"endTime":351.31,"body":"time he was in Oxford,"},{"startTime":351.44,"endTime":354.17,"body":"he published the more extensive ones,"},{"startTime":354.17,"endTime":357.65,"body":"the more extensive tables"},{"startTime":354.17,"endTime":357.65,"body":"that you can see on the right."},{"startTime":357.65,"endTime":359.47,"body":"And these included the logarithms"},{"startTime":359.47,"endTime":362.41,"body":"of no fewer them 30,000 numbers,"},{"startTime":362.41,"endTime":367.23,"body":"which he calculated by"},{"startTime":362.41,"endTime":367.23,"body":"hand to 14 decimal places."},{"startTime":367.23,"endTime":369.883,"body":"Certainly a prodigious"},{"startTime":367.23,"endTime":369.883,"body":"feat of calculation."},{"startTime":372.27,"endTime":374.8,"body":"Briggs' gravestone, shown above,"},{"startTime":374.8,"endTime":378.823,"body":"can still be seen in the"},{"startTime":374.8,"endTime":378.823,"body":"ante-chapel at Merton College."},{"startTime":382.68,"endTime":386.39,"body":"Meanwhile, having failed to"},{"startTime":382.68,"endTime":386.39,"body":"get Savile's geometry chair,"},{"startTime":386.39,"endTime":388.35,"body":"Edward Gunter went to Gresham College"},{"startTime":388.35,"endTime":390.58,"body":"as its professor of astronomy,"},{"startTime":390.58,"endTime":392.47,"body":"while the Savilian astronomy chair"},{"startTime":392.47,"endTime":395.11,"body":"was held by John Bainbridge,"},{"startTime":392.47,"endTime":395.11,"body":"whom you see here."},{"startTime":395.11,"endTime":398.16,"body":"And his memorial, shown in the middle,"},{"startTime":398.16,"endTime":402.33,"body":"is also in the ante-chapel"},{"startTime":398.16,"endTime":402.33,"body":"of Merton College."},{"startTime":402.33,"endTime":404.81,"body":"Bainbridge wrote several notable works,"},{"startTime":404.81,"endTime":408.09,"body":"including one on Ptolemy's"},{"startTime":404.81,"endTime":408.09,"body":"planetary hypotheses."},{"startTime":408.09,"endTime":411.79,"body":"And this one on the"},{"startTime":408.09,"endTime":411.79,"body":"right is \"Canicularia,\""},{"startTime":411.79,"endTime":414.233,"body":"on ancient Egyptian astronomy."},{"startTime":419.28,"endTime":421.42,"body":"After Briggs and Bainbridge,"},{"startTime":421.42,"endTime":424.71,"body":"the Oxford chairs were"},{"startTime":421.42,"endTime":424.71,"body":"occupied by two people,"},{"startTime":424.71,"endTime":429.13,"body":"Peter Turner in geometry, and"},{"startTime":424.71,"endTime":429.13,"body":"John Greaves in astronomy."},{"startTime":429.13,"endTime":432.06,"body":"Greaves had actually previously"},{"startTime":429.13,"endTime":432.06,"body":"been the Gresham professor"},{"startTime":432.06,"endTime":434.348,"body":"of geometry here in London,"},{"startTime":434.348,"endTime":437.64,"body":"and succeeding Turner in that position."},{"startTime":437.64,"endTime":441.363,"body":"Turner had held it"},{"startTime":437.64,"endTime":441.363,"body":"earlier, following Briggs."},{"startTime":443.51,"endTime":444.98,"body":"Who were these people?"},{"startTime":444.98,"endTime":447.01,"body":"Well, Turner was described by contemporary"},{"startTime":447.01,"endTime":449.41,"body":"as a most exact Latinist and Grecian"},{"startTime":449.41,"endTime":452.31,"body":"who was well skilled in Hebrew and Arabic,"},{"startTime":452.31,"endTime":456.34,"body":"was a thorough paced"},{"startTime":452.31,"endTime":456.34,"body":"mathematician, most curious critic,"},{"startTime":456.34,"endTime":460.19,"body":"a politician statesman and whatnot."},{"startTime":460.19,"endTime":461.96,"body":"But his mathematical writings,"},{"startTime":461.96,"endTime":464.433,"body":"if there were any have not survived."},{"startTime":465.75,"endTime":467.85,"body":"Primarily a university politician,"},{"startTime":467.85,"endTime":472.146,"body":"he designed this weekly"},{"startTime":467.85,"endTime":472.146,"body":"chart that presents the,"},{"startTime":472.146,"endTime":475.793,"body":"presented the university's"},{"startTime":472.146,"endTime":475.793,"body":"syllabus for the liberal arts."},{"startTime":476.76,"endTime":480.59,"body":"An ardent royalist in the"},{"startTime":476.76,"endTime":480.59,"body":"civil war, then raging,"},{"startTime":480.59,"endTime":482.96,"body":"Turner was later imprisoned"},{"startTime":482.96,"endTime":486.463,"body":"and his loyalty to the royalist"},{"startTime":482.96,"endTime":486.463,"body":"cause cost him his career."},{"startTime":489.09,"endTime":492.87,"body":"John Greaves on the right"},{"startTime":489.09,"endTime":492.87,"body":"was a more impressive figure,"},{"startTime":492.87,"endTime":495.77,"body":"who was proficient in many fields."},{"startTime":495.77,"endTime":498.03,"body":"He studied oriental languages"},{"startTime":498.03,"endTime":500.88,"body":"and collected ancient manuscripts."},{"startTime":500.88,"endTime":502.87,"body":"He also acquired astrolabes"},{"startTime":502.87,"endTime":505.02,"body":"and other mathematical instruments to take"},{"startTime":505.02,"endTime":508.193,"body":"on his extensive travels in"},{"startTime":505.02,"endTime":508.193,"body":"Europe and the Middle East."},{"startTime":509.04,"endTime":513.37,"body":"And while in Egypt, he entered"},{"startTime":509.04,"endTime":513.37,"body":"the Great Pyramid of Cheops"},{"startTime":513.37,"endTime":515.64,"body":"to measure its inner chambers."},{"startTime":515.64,"endTime":519.217,"body":"Described his experiences"},{"startTime":515.64,"endTime":519.217,"body":"in his memorable book"},{"startTime":519.217,"endTime":523.623,"body":"\"Pyramido-Graphia\" shown"},{"startTime":519.217,"endTime":523.623,"body":"below on the right."},{"startTime":527.58,"endTime":530.41,"body":"But the English civil war was raging."},{"startTime":530.41,"endTime":533.33,"body":"And by 1649, the royalist professors"},{"startTime":533.33,"endTime":536.993,"body":"had been replaced by supporters"},{"startTime":533.33,"endTime":536.993,"body":"of the parliamentary cause."},{"startTime":539.02,"endTime":542.25,"body":"Peter Turner was succeeded by John Wallis,"},{"startTime":542.25,"endTime":544.5,"body":"who had shown exceptional service"},{"startTime":544.5,"endTime":547.063,"body":"as a codebreaker for the parliamentarians."},{"startTime":548.95,"endTime":551.527,"body":"But as Wallis admitted,"},{"startTime":551.527,"endTime":554.997,"body":"\"in the year 1649, I moved to Oxford"},{"startTime":554.997,"endTime":557.75,"body":"\"being then public professor of geometry"},{"startTime":557.75,"endTime":560.83,"body":"of the foundation of Sir Henry Savile."},{"startTime":560.83,"endTime":565.09,"body":"And mathematics, which had"},{"startTime":560.83,"endTime":565.09,"body":"before been a pleasing diversion"},{"startTime":565.09,"endTime":567.297,"body":"was now to be my serious study.\""},{"startTime":569.29,"endTime":571.76,"body":"But although Wallis had"},{"startTime":569.29,"endTime":571.76,"body":"little mathematical experience"},{"startTime":571.76,"endTime":573.05,"body":"before his appointment,"},{"startTime":573.05,"endTime":577.0,"body":"he soon made up for"},{"startTime":573.05,"endTime":577.0,"body":"lost time as you'll see."},{"startTime":577.0,"endTime":578.36,"body":"And here on the left,"},{"startTime":578.36,"endTime":581.68,"body":"you can see a 1678 engraving on him."},{"startTime":581.68,"endTime":584.31,"body":"And on the right is the"},{"startTime":581.68,"endTime":584.31,"body":"magnificent portrait"},{"startTime":584.31,"endTime":588.03,"body":"by Godfrey Miller that now hangs"},{"startTime":588.03,"endTime":589.993,"body":"in Oxford's examination schools."},{"startTime":593.75,"endTime":596.7,"body":"Wallis held the geometry"},{"startTime":593.75,"endTime":596.7,"body":"chair for 54 years,"},{"startTime":596.7,"endTime":600.1,"body":"the longest tenure of"},{"startTime":596.7,"endTime":600.1,"body":"any Savilian professor."},{"startTime":600.1,"endTime":603.68,"body":"And here on the left is"},{"startTime":600.1,"endTime":603.68,"body":"his inaugural lecture"},{"startTime":603.68,"endTime":607.703,"body":"given in the geometry"},{"startTime":603.68,"endTime":607.703,"body":"schools in October 1649."},{"startTime":609.75,"endTime":611.81,"body":"While on the right are two items"},{"startTime":611.81,"endTime":614.23,"body":"from his first important book."},{"startTime":614.23,"endTime":616.66,"body":"A treatise on conic sections"},{"startTime":616.66,"endTime":619.7,"body":"of the ellipse parabola and hyperbola."},{"startTime":619.7,"endTime":623.337,"body":"His treatise on conic"},{"startTime":619.7,"endTime":623.337,"body":"sections published in 1655."},{"startTime":623.337,"endTime":626.07,"body":"And it is here that we"},{"startTime":623.337,"endTime":626.07,"body":"see the first appearance"},{"startTime":626.07,"endTime":628.663,"body":"of the symbol that we"},{"startTime":626.07,"endTime":628.663,"body":"now use for infinity."},{"startTime":629.62,"endTime":632.44,"body":"Just about see it at"},{"startTime":629.62,"endTime":632.44,"body":"the end of that arrow."},{"startTime":632.44,"endTime":635.35,"body":"While before, while below is his use"},{"startTime":635.35,"endTime":638.533,"body":"of Cavalieri's ideas to calculate areas."},{"startTime":642.05,"endTime":645.23,"body":"And the very next year, 1656,"},{"startTime":645.23,"endTime":647.447,"body":"Wallis produced his best known work."},{"startTime":647.447,"endTime":649.55,"body":"\"The Arithmetic of Infinities\""},{"startTime":649.55,"endTime":652.253,"body":"where he solved several area problems."},{"startTime":653.09,"endTime":655.14,"body":"And among the many achievements here"},{"startTime":655.14,"endTime":657.71,"body":"was his infinite product for pie,"},{"startTime":657.71,"endTime":661.11,"body":"which you can see above"},{"startTime":657.71,"endTime":661.11,"body":"where the small rectangle"},{"startTime":661.11,"endTime":664.58,"body":"you see there represents four over pie."},{"startTime":664.58,"endTime":668.02,"body":"And it was obtained using interpolation"},{"startTime":668.02,"endTime":670.843,"body":"as carried out in his table below."},{"startTime":675.68,"endTime":678.77,"body":"But John Wallis was not an"},{"startTime":675.68,"endTime":678.77,"body":"easy man to get on with."},{"startTime":678.77,"endTime":681.76,"body":"And he became involved"},{"startTime":678.77,"endTime":681.76,"body":"in several disputes,"},{"startTime":681.76,"endTime":684.8,"body":"such as those with the"},{"startTime":681.76,"endTime":684.8,"body":"philosopher Thomas Hobbs,"},{"startTime":684.8,"endTime":687.98,"body":"whose attempts to solve"},{"startTime":684.8,"endTime":687.98,"body":"various classical problems,"},{"startTime":687.98,"endTime":689.97,"body":"such as squaring the circle"},{"startTime":689.97,"endTime":694.713,"body":"were described by Wallis in"},{"startTime":689.97,"endTime":694.713,"body":"the work on the left, as inept."},{"startTime":696.16,"endTime":699.47,"body":"Hobbes then replied attacking Wallis"},{"startTime":699.47,"endTime":702.7,"body":"in the acrimonious work on the right."},{"startTime":702.7,"endTime":705.68,"body":"And Wallis then retaliated and so on."},{"startTime":705.68,"endTime":707.54,"body":"And their rivalry continued"},{"startTime":707.54,"endTime":711.453,"body":"for almost 25 years until Hobbes' death."},{"startTime":717.95,"endTime":722.27,"body":"Wallis' later publications"},{"startTime":717.95,"endTime":722.27,"body":"included \"A Treatise of Algebra\""},{"startTime":722.27,"endTime":724.283,"body":"both historical and practical."},{"startTime":725.38,"endTime":729.53,"body":"It contained the earliest"},{"startTime":725.38,"endTime":729.53,"body":"discussion of algebra's history,"},{"startTime":729.53,"endTime":732.93,"body":"although from a very"},{"startTime":729.53,"endTime":732.93,"body":"English point of view."},{"startTime":732.93,"endTime":735.973,"body":"He even accused Descartes of plagiarism."},{"startTime":737.32,"endTime":740.55,"body":"And on the right is his collected works,"},{"startTime":740.55,"endTime":745.16,"body":"published in three volumes by"},{"startTime":740.55,"endTime":745.16,"body":"the Oxford university press,"},{"startTime":745.16,"endTime":749.66,"body":"which was then housed in the"},{"startTime":745.16,"endTime":749.66,"body":"newly built Sheldonian theater,"},{"startTime":749.66,"endTime":751.003,"body":"which you can see below."},{"startTime":755.97,"endTime":759.77,"body":"So after 54 years, Wallis died in 1703"},{"startTime":759.77,"endTime":762.81,"body":"and his successor was Edmond Halley,"},{"startTime":762.81,"endTime":765.22,"body":"shown on the left in his youth"},{"startTime":765.22,"endTime":768.223,"body":"and on the right, in his old age."},{"startTime":769.61,"endTime":772.25,"body":"He was an undergraduate at Queens college"},{"startTime":772.25,"endTime":775.813,"body":"and below is his signature"},{"startTime":772.25,"endTime":775.813,"body":"in the college register."},{"startTime":777.93,"endTime":781.33,"body":"And although we know him"},{"startTime":777.93,"endTime":781.33,"body":"mainly is an astronomer,"},{"startTime":781.33,"endTime":785.72,"body":"it was Savile's chair of"},{"startTime":781.33,"endTime":785.72,"body":"geometry which he came to occupy"},{"startTime":785.72,"endTime":788.873,"body":"and he occupied it for almost 40 years."},{"startTime":795.22,"endTime":797.853,"body":"Halley had various varied interests."},{"startTime":799.29,"endTime":802.75,"body":"While still a student,"},{"startTime":799.29,"endTime":802.75,"body":"his sailed to Saint Helena"},{"startTime":802.75,"endTime":805.27,"body":"to map the skies of"},{"startTime":802.75,"endTime":805.27,"body":"the southern hemisphere"},{"startTime":805.27,"endTime":807.653,"body":"to a greater accuracy than previously."},{"startTime":809.34,"endTime":812.31,"body":"Which secured him an"},{"startTime":809.34,"endTime":812.31,"body":"international reputation"},{"startTime":812.31,"endTime":816.593,"body":"and election to the Royal"},{"startTime":812.31,"endTime":816.593,"body":"society at the age of just 22."},{"startTime":819.18,"endTime":822.64,"body":"It also led to King Charles II"},{"startTime":819.18,"endTime":822.64,"body":"commanding Oxford university"},{"startTime":822.64,"endTime":825.973,"body":"to award Halley an MA"},{"startTime":822.64,"endTime":825.973,"body":"degree without examination."},{"startTime":828.78,"endTime":832.32,"body":"Halley's interest in"},{"startTime":828.78,"endTime":832.32,"body":"magnetism led to him producing"},{"startTime":832.32,"endTime":836.16,"body":"the magnificent chart"},{"startTime":832.32,"endTime":836.16,"body":"of magnetic variation"},{"startTime":836.16,"endTime":838.23,"body":"that you can see here on the left."},{"startTime":838.23,"endTime":840.62,"body":"Where he introduced the now familiar idea"},{"startTime":840.62,"endTime":844.223,"body":"of joining points with equal values."},{"startTime":846.47,"endTime":851.05,"body":"Later in 1715, a solar eclipse in England"},{"startTime":851.05,"endTime":855.37,"body":"led him to send the map on"},{"startTime":851.05,"endTime":855.37,"body":"the right around the country"},{"startTime":855.37,"endTime":858.513,"body":"in order to solicit local observations."},{"startTime":863.95,"endTime":865.97,"body":"The Savilian chair was actually"},{"startTime":865.97,"endTime":867.943,"body":"Halley's first academic post."},{"startTime":869.56,"endTime":872.98,"body":"And to establish his"},{"startTime":869.56,"endTime":872.98,"body":"credentials, what did he do?"},{"startTime":872.98,"endTime":876.68,"body":"Well following a widely admired"},{"startTime":872.98,"endTime":876.68,"body":"inaugural electron geometry,"},{"startTime":876.68,"endTime":879.72,"body":"he secured his academic reputation"},{"startTime":879.72,"endTime":883.37,"body":"by producing what became"},{"startTime":879.72,"endTime":883.37,"body":"the definitive addition"},{"startTime":883.37,"endTime":887.633,"body":"of the ancient text on"},{"startTime":883.37,"endTime":887.633,"body":"conics by Apollonius."},{"startTime":889.7,"endTime":893.37,"body":"And it's front piece that"},{"startTime":889.7,"endTime":893.37,"body":"you can see here on the right"},{"startTime":893.37,"endTime":897.91,"body":"features the image first"},{"startTime":893.37,"endTime":897.91,"body":"introduced by Savile,"},{"startTime":897.91,"endTime":901.18,"body":"which shows the Greek"},{"startTime":897.91,"endTime":901.18,"body":"philosopher Aristippus"},{"startTime":901.18,"endTime":904.33,"body":"who having been shipwrecked"},{"startTime":901.18,"endTime":904.33,"body":"on the Island of Rhodes"},{"startTime":905.24,"endTime":908.28,"body":"was assured of the local"},{"startTime":905.24,"endTime":908.28,"body":"inhabitants civilized nature"},{"startTime":908.28,"endTime":911.483,"body":"when he discovered mathematical"},{"startTime":908.28,"endTime":911.483,"body":"drawings in the sand."},{"startTime":912.47,"endTime":914.41,"body":"And in fact, there are several books"},{"startTime":914.41,"endTime":916.42,"body":"published by Oxford University press,"},{"startTime":916.42,"endTime":918.02,"body":"which have this picture."},{"startTime":918.02,"endTime":920.47,"body":"One by Savile, and this one by Halley."},{"startTime":920.47,"endTime":921.75,"body":"There's another one in between,"},{"startTime":921.75,"endTime":924.2,"body":"and they all had different"},{"startTime":921.75,"endTime":924.2,"body":"mathematical drawings"},{"startTime":924.2,"endTime":928.223,"body":"depending on the contents"},{"startTime":924.2,"endTime":928.223,"body":"of the book in hand."},{"startTime":932.31,"endTime":935.29,"body":"So Halley lived at this"},{"startTime":932.31,"endTime":935.29,"body":"house in New College Lane"},{"startTime":935.29,"endTime":938.01,"body":"on top of which he built an observatory,"},{"startTime":938.01,"endTime":941.5,"body":"which a contemporary"},{"startTime":938.01,"endTime":941.5,"body":"described as very convenient"},{"startTime":941.5,"endTime":943.803,"body":"and indeed useful to the university,"},{"startTime":944.69,"endTime":947.163,"body":"and what Henry Savile"},{"startTime":944.69,"endTime":947.163,"body":"did expect from them."},{"startTime":948.51,"endTime":951.54,"body":"Indeed, these two adjacent buildings"},{"startTime":951.54,"endTime":954.923,"body":"housed the two Savilian"},{"startTime":951.54,"endTime":954.923,"body":"professors for some 200 years."},{"startTime":957.11,"endTime":962.11,"body":"In 1720, Halley was"},{"startTime":957.11,"endTime":962.11,"body":"appointed astronomer royal."},{"startTime":962.11,"endTime":964.63,"body":"And for the last 20 years of his life,"},{"startTime":964.63,"endTime":967.3,"body":"he spent much of his time at Greenwich"},{"startTime":967.3,"endTime":970.47,"body":"while continuing to hold"},{"startTime":967.3,"endTime":970.47,"body":"his Oxford position."},{"startTime":970.47,"endTime":973.24,"body":"That was allowable in those days."},{"startTime":973.24,"endTime":977.42,"body":"And his house, the one in"},{"startTime":973.24,"endTime":977.42,"body":"white now marked with a plaque,"},{"startTime":977.42,"endTime":980.59,"body":"you can see below it used"},{"startTime":977.42,"endTime":980.59,"body":"to be marked with the plaque"},{"startTime":980.59,"endTime":984.66,"body":"in the middle where Edmond"},{"startTime":980.59,"endTime":984.66,"body":"was incorrectly spelled,"},{"startTime":984.66,"endTime":986.95,"body":"but now that's been replaced by the one"},{"startTime":986.95,"endTime":988.84,"body":"that you see on the right,"},{"startTime":988.84,"endTime":991.323,"body":"which was unveiled about three years ago."},{"startTime":992.315,"endTime":995.43,"body":"And his house is currently used"},{"startTime":995.43,"endTime":997.693,"body":"for housing the colleges undergraduates."},{"startTime":1002.8,"endTime":1004.72,"body":"Halley was of course an astronomer."},{"startTime":1004.72,"endTime":1007.25,"body":"In fact, the first of several astronomers"},{"startTime":1007.25,"endTime":1009.533,"body":"to hold the Savilian chair of geometry."},{"startTime":1010.55,"endTime":1013.67,"body":"And his successor was Nathaniel Bliss,"},{"startTime":1013.67,"endTime":1017.41,"body":"who also became astronomer"},{"startTime":1013.67,"endTime":1017.41,"body":"Royal, but late in life,"},{"startTime":1017.41,"endTime":1020.003,"body":"giving him only two years at Greenwich."},{"startTime":1021.85,"endTime":1024.78,"body":"The left hand image that you can see here,"},{"startTime":1024.78,"endTime":1027.223,"body":"wrongly calls him professor of astronomy."},{"startTime":1028.16,"endTime":1031.333,"body":"Nathaniel Bliss, AM professor"},{"startTime":1028.16,"endTime":1031.333,"body":"of astronomy in Oxford."},{"startTime":1032.87,"endTime":1034.2,"body":"Where does that come from?"},{"startTime":1034.2,"endTime":1037.64,"body":"That engraving, it was"},{"startTime":1034.2,"endTime":1037.64,"body":"engraved on a pewter mug"},{"startTime":1037.64,"endTime":1041.273,"body":"during a rather, exciting dinner."},{"startTime":1046.12,"endTime":1049.18,"body":"Bliss talk his professorial"},{"startTime":1046.12,"endTime":1049.18,"body":"duties very seriously"},{"startTime":1049.18,"endTime":1051.89,"body":"and lectured on a range of topics."},{"startTime":1051.89,"endTime":1054.46,"body":"In fact, ranging from algebra and geometry"},{"startTime":1054.46,"endTime":1057.533,"body":"to the use of logarithms"},{"startTime":1054.46,"endTime":1057.533,"body":"and surveying instruments."},{"startTime":1058.72,"endTime":1063.083,"body":"Although one student actually"},{"startTime":1058.72,"endTime":1063.083,"body":"the teenage, Jeremy Bentham,"},{"startTime":1064.86,"endTime":1067.78,"body":"claimed that almost all"},{"startTime":1064.86,"endTime":1067.78,"body":"Bliss' practical experiments"},{"startTime":1067.78,"endTime":1070.363,"body":"in his lectures tended to go wrong."},{"startTime":1072.69,"endTime":1074.93,"body":"By this time Isaac Newton had died,"},{"startTime":1074.93,"endTime":1077.07,"body":"but Oxford teaching was already becoming"},{"startTime":1077.07,"endTime":1079.67,"body":"very influenced by his ideas."},{"startTime":1079.67,"endTime":1081.316,"body":"And here's a course of,"},{"startTime":1081.316,"endTime":1084.26,"body":"of mathematical lectures and experiments"},{"startTime":1084.26,"endTime":1089.26,"body":"based on Newtonian principles,"},{"startTime":1084.26,"endTime":1089.26,"body":"all in great details there."},{"startTime":1089.28,"endTime":1092.943,"body":"And Bliss' teaching was"},{"startTime":1089.28,"endTime":1092.943,"body":"along similar lines."},{"startTime":1095.41,"endTime":1100.07,"body":"Another Oxford Newtonian of"},{"startTime":1095.41,"endTime":1100.07,"body":"the time was John Desaguliers,"},{"startTime":1100.07,"endTime":1103.183,"body":"whom you can see shown at the top."},{"startTime":1104.24,"endTime":1108.14,"body":"His fine drawings and expositions"},{"startTime":1104.24,"endTime":1108.14,"body":"of experimental philosophy"},{"startTime":1108.14,"endTime":1111.07,"body":"helped to popularize Newtonian physics."},{"startTime":1111.07,"endTime":1113.31,"body":"And this is just one of several"},{"startTime":1113.31,"endTime":1117.863,"body":"beautiful plates showing"},{"startTime":1113.31,"endTime":1117.863,"body":"scientific diagrams."},{"startTime":1122.32,"endTime":1124.063,"body":"So that was Nathaniel Bliss."},{"startTime":1126.62,"endTime":1128.03,"body":"But we know rather little about"},{"startTime":1128.03,"endTime":1130.32,"body":"the next two geometry professors."},{"startTime":1130.32,"endTime":1134.86,"body":"Joseph Betts, another"},{"startTime":1130.32,"endTime":1134.86,"body":"astronomer was also interested"},{"startTime":1134.86,"endTime":1139.86,"body":"in eclipses as his diagram of"},{"startTime":1134.86,"endTime":1139.86,"body":"the 1764 solar eclipse shows."},{"startTime":1141.02,"endTime":1144.093,"body":"But he died after only one year in post."},{"startTime":1147.15,"endTime":1149.61,"body":"His successor, John Smith,"},{"startTime":1149.61,"endTime":1152.283,"body":"occupied the chair for over 30 years."},{"startTime":1153.4,"endTime":1155.23,"body":"But he seems to have had few, if any,"},{"startTime":1155.23,"endTime":1156.723,"body":"mathematical credentials."},{"startTime":1158.65,"endTime":1162.45,"body":"A physician for the new"},{"startTime":1158.65,"endTime":1162.45,"body":"Radcliffe infirmary,"},{"startTime":1162.45,"endTime":1167.04,"body":"he spent much of his time"},{"startTime":1162.45,"endTime":1167.04,"body":"practicing medicine in Cheltenham"},{"startTime":1167.04,"endTime":1170.213,"body":"while others carried out"},{"startTime":1167.04,"endTime":1170.213,"body":"his Oxford lecturing duties."},{"startTime":1171.604,"endTime":1173.75,"body":"And here's his observations"},{"startTime":1173.75,"endTime":1177.05,"body":"of the use and abuse of"},{"startTime":1173.75,"endTime":1177.05,"body":"the Cheltenham waters."},{"startTime":1177.05,"endTime":1181.28,"body":"Proudly presenting him as"},{"startTime":1177.05,"endTime":1181.28,"body":"Savilian professor of geometry"},{"startTime":1181.28,"endTime":1182.723,"body":"in the university of Oxford."},{"startTime":1190.24,"endTime":1193.13,"body":"The last two from our first"},{"startTime":1190.24,"endTime":1193.13,"body":"batch of geometry professors"},{"startTime":1193.13,"endTime":1195.95,"body":"were active in mathematics,"},{"startTime":1193.13,"endTime":1195.95,"body":"although again,"},{"startTime":1195.95,"endTime":1197.96,"body":"mainly interested in astronomy."},{"startTime":1197.96,"endTime":1201.79,"body":"And in fact, both of these"},{"startTime":1197.96,"endTime":1201.79,"body":"subsequently switched over"},{"startTime":1201.79,"endTime":1204.263,"body":"to the Savile astronomy chair."},{"startTime":1206.59,"endTime":1209.47,"body":"But Abraham Robertson's geometry lectures,"},{"startTime":1209.47,"endTime":1211.84,"body":"incidentally Abraham"},{"startTime":1209.47,"endTime":1211.84,"body":"Robertson was one of the ones"},{"startTime":1211.84,"endTime":1213.21,"body":"who filled in for John Smith"},{"startTime":1213.21,"endTime":1216.113,"body":"when John Smith was looking"},{"startTime":1213.21,"endTime":1216.113,"body":"at the waters of Cheltenham."},{"startTime":1217.29,"endTime":1220.76,"body":"But Robertson's geometry"},{"startTime":1217.29,"endTime":1220.76,"body":"lectures were popular"},{"startTime":1220.76,"endTime":1222.82,"body":"and he published on Euclid."},{"startTime":1222.82,"endTime":1226.26,"body":"And also as you see here on Conic sections"},{"startTime":1226.26,"endTime":1229.623,"body":"as an introduction to"},{"startTime":1226.26,"endTime":1229.623,"body":"the Newtonian philosophy."},{"startTime":1231.06,"endTime":1234.06,"body":"While his successor, Stephen Rigaud"},{"startTime":1234.06,"endTime":1238.23,"body":"shown here in silhouette,"},{"startTime":1234.06,"endTime":1238.23,"body":"wrote on a range of topics"},{"startTime":1238.23,"endTime":1241.243,"body":"from Archimedes to steam navigation."},{"startTime":1247.99,"endTime":1251.193,"body":"So we now move to the second"},{"startTime":1247.99,"endTime":1251.193,"body":"batch of geometry professors."},{"startTime":1253.39,"endTime":1256.68,"body":"We've now reached the 19th century."},{"startTime":1256.68,"endTime":1259.83,"body":"And we look next at the Victorian period,"},{"startTime":1259.83,"endTime":1263.75,"body":"which is represented by"},{"startTime":1259.83,"endTime":1263.75,"body":"three Savilian professors,"},{"startTime":1263.75,"endTime":1267.123,"body":"before proceeding to the"},{"startTime":1263.75,"endTime":1267.123,"body":"20th century and beyond."},{"startTime":1272.77,"endTime":1275.623,"body":"So the 10th geometry"},{"startTime":1272.77,"endTime":1275.623,"body":"professor was Baden Powell,"},{"startTime":1276.68,"endTime":1279.953,"body":"who occupied the chair for over 30 years."},{"startTime":1281.23,"endTime":1283.02,"body":"And if his name seems familiar,"},{"startTime":1283.02,"endTime":1285.84,"body":"it may be because one of his sons"},{"startTime":1285.84,"endTime":1288.24,"body":"founded the boy scout movement."},{"startTime":1288.24,"endTime":1290.32,"body":"I think it was his sixth"},{"startTime":1288.24,"endTime":1290.32,"body":"son by his third wife,"},{"startTime":1290.32,"endTime":1291.47,"body":"but I'm not quite sure."},{"startTime":1292.47,"endTime":1296.53,"body":"And here you can see three"},{"startTime":1292.47,"endTime":1296.53,"body":"images of Baden Powell,"},{"startTime":1296.53,"endTime":1299.21,"body":"including the early"},{"startTime":1296.53,"endTime":1299.21,"body":"photograph on the left,"},{"startTime":1299.21,"endTime":1303.01,"body":"which was taken by, taken around 1850"},{"startTime":1306.5,"endTime":1310.083,"body":"Baden Powell's career took a"},{"startTime":1306.5,"endTime":1310.083,"body":"common progression off time."},{"startTime":1311.15,"endTime":1316.15,"body":"Getting a first class degree,"},{"startTime":1311.15,"endTime":1316.15,"body":"in his case at Oriel college."},{"startTime":1316.44,"endTime":1320.6,"body":"Followed by a college"},{"startTime":1316.44,"endTime":1320.6,"body":"fellowship leading to ordination"},{"startTime":1320.6,"endTime":1322.603,"body":"and a college church living."},{"startTime":1324.15,"endTime":1327.41,"body":"So Powell became a vicar"},{"startTime":1324.15,"endTime":1327.41,"body":"in London where he spent"},{"startTime":1327.41,"endTime":1331.613,"body":"his spare time researching"},{"startTime":1327.41,"endTime":1331.613,"body":"into the polarization of light."},{"startTime":1333.1,"endTime":1337.03,"body":"And this led in turn to a"},{"startTime":1333.1,"endTime":1337.03,"body":"fellowship of the Royal society"},{"startTime":1337.03,"endTime":1340.973,"body":"and eventually to his Savilian"},{"startTime":1337.03,"endTime":1340.973,"body":"appointment in Oxford."},{"startTime":1346.14,"endTime":1350.053,"body":"But Oxford mathematics at this"},{"startTime":1346.14,"endTime":1350.053,"body":"time was at a very low ebb."},{"startTime":1351.113,"endTime":1356.113,"body":"With poor standards and"},{"startTime":1351.113,"endTime":1356.113,"body":"small student numbers."},{"startTime":1356.28,"endTime":1357.82,"body":"And on his arrival,"},{"startTime":1357.82,"endTime":1360.99,"body":"Paul was warned off giving"},{"startTime":1357.82,"endTime":1360.99,"body":"an inaugural lecture"},{"startTime":1360.99,"endTime":1363.185,"body":"because no one was likely to attend it."},{"startTime":1363.185,"endTime":1366.72,"body":"(audience laughs)"},{"startTime":1366.72,"endTime":1369.47,"body":"So instead he produced two publications,"},{"startTime":1369.47,"endTime":1371.72,"body":"a pamphlet that you can see on the left,"},{"startTime":1371.72,"endTime":1374.12,"body":"on the present state and future prospects"},{"startTime":1374.12,"endTime":1375.88,"body":"of mathematical and physical studies"},{"startTime":1375.88,"endTime":1377.393,"body":"in the University of Oxford."},{"startTime":1378.32,"endTime":1382.0,"body":"Where he argued the"},{"startTime":1378.32,"endTime":1382.0,"body":"importance of these studies"},{"startTime":1382.0,"endTime":1383.783,"body":"as part of a liberal education."},{"startTime":1385.2,"endTime":1388.44,"body":"And on the right, a history"},{"startTime":1385.2,"endTime":1388.44,"body":"of natural philosophy,"},{"startTime":1388.44,"endTime":1392.393,"body":"which was designed to promote"},{"startTime":1388.44,"endTime":1392.393,"body":"general scientific awareness."},{"startTime":1395.13,"endTime":1399.25,"body":"And in truth, Powell was not"},{"startTime":1395.13,"endTime":1399.25,"body":"primarily a mathematician,"},{"startTime":1399.25,"endTime":1402.21,"body":"but rather a popularizer of science."},{"startTime":1402.21,"endTime":1406.38,"body":"And here you can see him at"},{"startTime":1402.21,"endTime":1406.38,"body":"London's Royal institution"},{"startTime":1406.38,"endTime":1409.51,"body":"giving a public lecture in 1851"},{"startTime":1409.51,"endTime":1411.693,"body":"on the rotation of the earth."},{"startTime":1415.96,"endTime":1418.61,"body":"While here, the upper picture,"},{"startTime":1418.61,"endTime":1421.1,"body":"both pictures are from"},{"startTime":1418.61,"endTime":1421.1,"body":"Oxford's second meeting"},{"startTime":1421.1,"endTime":1424.173,"body":"with the British association"},{"startTime":1421.1,"endTime":1424.173,"body":"for the advancement of science,"},{"startTime":1425.54,"endTime":1429.06,"body":"that started in 1831, I think in York."},{"startTime":1429.06,"endTime":1431.08,"body":"The second meeting was in Oxford."},{"startTime":1431.08,"endTime":1435.75,"body":"And Oxford's second meeting was"},{"startTime":1431.08,"endTime":1435.75,"body":"in 1847 and here at the top,"},{"startTime":1435.75,"endTime":1438.63,"body":"you can see it shows Baden Powell"},{"startTime":1438.63,"endTime":1440.54,"body":"in Oxford's Radcliffe camera"},{"startTime":1440.54,"endTime":1443.513,"body":"giving a two hour"},{"startTime":1440.54,"endTime":1443.513,"body":"lecture on falling stars."},{"startTime":1445.41,"endTime":1447.46,"body":"And also attending the same meeting"},{"startTime":1447.46,"endTime":1450.93,"body":"were John Couch Adams and Leverrier,"},{"startTime":1450.93,"endTime":1454.5,"body":"the two recent discoverers"},{"startTime":1450.93,"endTime":1454.5,"body":"of the planet Neptune."},{"startTime":1454.5,"endTime":1457.25,"body":"And the lower picture shows Adams"},{"startTime":1457.25,"endTime":1459.153,"body":"lecturing on this achievement."},{"startTime":1464.87,"endTime":1466.46,"body":"Well Baden Powell was a supporter"},{"startTime":1466.46,"endTime":1468.353,"body":"of Darwin's theory of evolution."},{"startTime":1469.32,"endTime":1470.75,"body":"But died in 1860,"},{"startTime":1470.75,"endTime":1474.56,"body":"shortly after writing a"},{"startTime":1470.75,"endTime":1474.56,"body":"controversial religious tape"},{"startTime":1474.56,"endTime":1478.15,"body":"religious article that impressed Darwin"},{"startTime":1478.15,"endTime":1479.923,"body":"but alarmed many others."},{"startTime":1481.5,"endTime":1485.08,"body":"And his successor in the"},{"startTime":1481.5,"endTime":1485.08,"body":"Savilian chair was Henry Smith,"},{"startTime":1485.08,"endTime":1488.84,"body":"whom you can see here. Henry"},{"startTime":1485.08,"endTime":1488.84,"body":"Smith of Balliol college."},{"startTime":1488.84,"endTime":1491.71,"body":"The first real mathematician"},{"startTime":1488.84,"endTime":1491.71,"body":"to hold the post"},{"startTime":1491.71,"endTime":1493.9,"body":"for well over a century."},{"startTime":1493.9,"endTime":1495.06,"body":"And on the right is"},{"startTime":1495.06,"endTime":1497.393,"body":"a lovely student caricature of him."},{"startTime":1503.61,"endTime":1508.05,"body":"A highly popular figure, Henry"},{"startTime":1503.61,"endTime":1508.05,"body":"Smith spoke several languages"},{"startTime":1508.05,"endTime":1511.093,"body":"and was well informed on"},{"startTime":1508.05,"endTime":1511.093,"body":"a wide range of subjects."},{"startTime":1512.68,"endTime":1517.29,"body":"And he held several college"},{"startTime":1512.68,"endTime":1517.29,"body":"and university positions."},{"startTime":1517.29,"endTime":1518.72,"body":"And one of his positions"},{"startTime":1518.72,"endTime":1521.54,"body":"was as keeper of the university museum,"},{"startTime":1521.54,"endTime":1524.43,"body":"which had been constructed in the 1850s."},{"startTime":1524.43,"endTime":1526.12,"body":"As you can see here on the left there,"},{"startTime":1526.12,"endTime":1528.76,"body":"you can see the university museum"},{"startTime":1528.76,"endTime":1531.533,"body":"being constructed in the mid 1850s."},{"startTime":1532.66,"endTime":1534.45,"body":"There it is complete."},{"startTime":1534.45,"endTime":1539.003,"body":"This was at the time, of"},{"startTime":1534.45,"endTime":1539.003,"body":"a big scientific meeting."},{"startTime":1540.03,"endTime":1541.64,"body":"There you can see the keeper's house"},{"startTime":1541.64,"endTime":1544.09,"body":"in the middle at the top."},{"startTime":1544.09,"endTime":1546.95,"body":"And he lived there with his sister."},{"startTime":1546.95,"endTime":1550.73,"body":"And the bust of him just"},{"startTime":1546.95,"endTime":1550.73,"body":"next to there can be,"},{"startTime":1550.73,"endTime":1553.8,"body":"can still be seen in"},{"startTime":1550.73,"endTime":1553.8,"body":"the university museum."},{"startTime":1553.8,"endTime":1556.39,"body":"And there below is a, an engraving,"},{"startTime":1556.39,"endTime":1558.06,"body":"a drawing of the university,"},{"startTime":1558.06,"endTime":1560.113,"body":"the interior of the university museum."},{"startTime":1565.16,"endTime":1566.93,"body":"Henry Smith's mathematical research"},{"startTime":1566.93,"endTime":1568.773,"body":"has covered a range of topics."},{"startTime":1570.15,"endTime":1573.143,"body":"From matrix algebra, where he introduced"},{"startTime":1573.143,"endTime":1576.293,"body":"a so-called Smith form of a matrix,"},{"startTime":1576.293,"endTime":1578.96,"body":"to the theory of integration,"},{"startTime":1578.96,"endTime":1583.23,"body":"where he presented a form"},{"startTime":1578.96,"endTime":1583.23,"body":"of Cantor's ternary set"},{"startTime":1583.23,"endTime":1585.423,"body":"eight years before Cantor got there."},{"startTime":1587.57,"endTime":1589.96,"body":"But maybe his most important contributions"},{"startTime":1589.96,"endTime":1592.53,"body":"were in number theory,"},{"startTime":1589.96,"endTime":1592.53,"body":"the theory of numbers,"},{"startTime":1592.53,"endTime":1596.66,"body":"and here is the first"},{"startTime":1592.53,"endTime":1596.66,"body":"of six major articles"},{"startTime":1596.66,"endTime":1600.253,"body":"on the subject that he wrote"},{"startTime":1596.66,"endTime":1600.253,"body":"for the British association."},{"startTime":1603.26,"endTime":1605.82,"body":"Smith's work on number"},{"startTime":1603.26,"endTime":1605.82,"body":"theory included the problem,"},{"startTime":1605.82,"endTime":1608.28,"body":"of counting the ways in which we can reach"},{"startTime":1608.28,"endTime":1611.86,"body":"a given number by adding perfect squares."},{"startTime":1611.86,"endTime":1614.06,"body":"For example, if we're given 11,"},{"startTime":1614.06,"endTime":1616.98,"body":"you can write it as some of five squares"},{"startTime":1616.98,"endTime":1621.903,"body":"by taking nine, two ones, and two zeros,"},{"startTime":1623.05,"endTime":1626.78,"body":"Or you can take two fours and three ones,"},{"startTime":1626.78,"endTime":1628.923,"body":"or any rearrangement of these."},{"startTime":1629.81,"endTime":1631.33,"body":"And Smith wrote a paper,"},{"startTime":1631.33,"endTime":1634.81,"body":"counting the number of"},{"startTime":1631.33,"endTime":1634.81,"body":"ways of getting of sums"},{"startTime":1634.81,"endTime":1639.12,"body":"for five squares and"},{"startTime":1634.81,"endTime":1639.12,"body":"also for seven squares."},{"startTime":1639.12,"endTime":1640.76,"body":"They, the problem had been solved"},{"startTime":1640.76,"endTime":1642.78,"body":"for other numbers of squares,"},{"startTime":1642.78,"endTime":1644.54,"body":"but five and seven were the two"},{"startTime":1644.54,"endTime":1647.14,"body":"that no one had been able"},{"startTime":1644.54,"endTime":1647.14,"body":"to do until he came along."},{"startTime":1648.4,"endTime":1652.6,"body":"So imagine his consternation"},{"startTime":1648.4,"endTime":1652.6,"body":"then when some years later,"},{"startTime":1652.6,"endTime":1654.75,"body":"the French academy of sciences"},{"startTime":1654.75,"endTime":1656.61,"body":"posed the five squares problem"},{"startTime":1656.61,"endTime":1659.833,"body":"as its special yearly prize competition."},{"startTime":1662.49,"endTime":1664.703,"body":"Smith wrote to the competition chair,"},{"startTime":1665.748,"endTime":1668.81,"body":"a Charles Hermite you"},{"startTime":1665.748,"endTime":1668.81,"body":"can see in the center"},{"startTime":1668.81,"endTime":1670.563,"body":"pointing out his priority."},{"startTime":1671.62,"endTime":1674.29,"body":"Hermite was rightly greatly embarrassed"},{"startTime":1674.29,"endTime":1678.091,"body":"and urged Smith to submit"},{"startTime":1674.29,"endTime":1678.091,"body":"his solution in French."},{"startTime":1678.091,"endTime":1679.89,"body":"(audience laughs)"},{"startTime":1679.89,"endTime":1682.48,"body":"Which of course Smith knew,"},{"startTime":1682.48,"endTime":1684.34,"body":"but sadly Smith was unwell"},{"startTime":1684.34,"endTime":1687.16,"body":"and he died before completing that task."},{"startTime":1687.16,"endTime":1690.94,"body":"And the prize was eventually"},{"startTime":1687.16,"endTime":1690.94,"body":"shared between him posthumously"},{"startTime":1690.94,"endTime":1695.17,"body":"and a young German Hermann"},{"startTime":1690.94,"endTime":1695.17,"body":"Minkowski on the right,"},{"startTime":1695.17,"endTime":1699.75,"body":"who had reached similar"},{"startTime":1695.17,"endTime":1699.75,"body":"conclusions and who later became"},{"startTime":1699.75,"endTime":1702.153,"body":"a well known mathematician"},{"startTime":1699.75,"endTime":1702.153,"body":"in his own right."},{"startTime":1708.52,"endTime":1711.0,"body":"Henry Smith was succeeded"},{"startTime":1708.52,"endTime":1711.0,"body":"as Savilian professor"},{"startTime":1711.0,"endTime":1713.43,"body":"by James Joseph Sylvester,"},{"startTime":1713.43,"endTime":1716.01,"body":"who held a number of positions in England"},{"startTime":1716.01,"endTime":1719.21,"body":"before becoming the first"},{"startTime":1716.01,"endTime":1719.21,"body":"professor of mathematics"},{"startTime":1719.21,"endTime":1723.353,"body":"at the newly founded John's"},{"startTime":1719.21,"endTime":1723.353,"body":"Hopkins university in America."},{"startTime":1725.36,"endTime":1728.22,"body":"But as a Jew, Sylvester had been barred"},{"startTime":1728.22,"endTime":1731.543,"body":"from receiving his Cambridge"},{"startTime":1728.22,"endTime":1731.543,"body":"degree in the 1830s,"},{"startTime":1732.81,"endTime":1737.023,"body":"or from holding any academic"},{"startTime":1732.81,"endTime":1737.023,"body":"post in Oxford or Cambridge."},{"startTime":1738.55,"endTime":1741.52,"body":"But in 1871, the rules changed."},{"startTime":1741.52,"endTime":1746.323,"body":"And so Sylvester writing from Baltimore,"},{"startTime":1747.299,"endTime":1751.06,"body":"he successfully applied"},{"startTime":1747.299,"endTime":1751.06,"body":"for the Savilian chair"},{"startTime":1751.06,"endTime":1755.003,"body":"and he was appointed at"},{"startTime":1751.06,"endTime":1755.003,"body":"the advanced age of 69."},{"startTime":1759.73,"endTime":1762.94,"body":"Earlier, Sylvester had worked with"},{"startTime":1762.94,"endTime":1765.78,"body":"the Cambridge mathematician,"},{"startTime":1762.94,"endTime":1765.78,"body":"Arthur Cayley,"},{"startTime":1765.78,"endTime":1769.75,"body":"especially on a subject"},{"startTime":1765.78,"endTime":1769.75,"body":"known as invariant theory."},{"startTime":1769.75,"endTime":1772.313,"body":"And the two became firm friends."},{"startTime":1774.42,"endTime":1777.78,"body":"But Sylvester soon became"},{"startTime":1774.42,"endTime":1777.78,"body":"disillusioned with Oxford,"},{"startTime":1777.78,"endTime":1781.94,"body":"as the research community"},{"startTime":1777.78,"endTime":1781.94,"body":"that he developed in Baltimore"},{"startTime":1781.94,"endTime":1785.12,"body":"did not exist in Oxford where the emphasis"},{"startTime":1785.12,"endTime":1788.083,"body":"was almost entirely on"},{"startTime":1785.12,"endTime":1788.083,"body":"undergraduate teaching."},{"startTime":1789.91,"endTime":1794.34,"body":"And as Sylvester complained"},{"startTime":1789.91,"endTime":1794.34,"body":"in this letter to Cayley,"},{"startTime":1794.34,"endTime":1797.31,"body":"he says, \"I am bound by usage,"},{"startTime":1797.31,"endTime":1799.63,"body":"and by the wants of the undergraduates"},{"startTime":1799.63,"endTime":1803.18,"body":"reading for moderations to"},{"startTime":1799.63,"endTime":1803.18,"body":"give a course or courses"},{"startTime":1803.18,"endTime":1806.197,"body":"of lectures on pure synthetic geometry.\""},{"startTime":1809.16,"endTime":1812.25,"body":"Indeed as a professor of geometry,"},{"startTime":1812.25,"endTime":1815.593,"body":"Sylvester had to give regular"},{"startTime":1812.25,"endTime":1815.593,"body":"lectures on that subject."},{"startTime":1816.92,"endTime":1819.81,"body":"And one of his ideas was"},{"startTime":1816.92,"endTime":1819.81,"body":"for a course of lectures"},{"startTime":1819.81,"endTime":1824.08,"body":"on surfaces illustrated by plaster string"},{"startTime":1824.08,"endTime":1825.593,"body":"and cardboard models."},{"startTime":1826.44,"endTime":1829.38,"body":"To be accompanied by"},{"startTime":1826.44,"endTime":1829.38,"body":"three dimensional models,"},{"startTime":1829.38,"endTime":1832.55,"body":"such as the one you can see on the right."},{"startTime":1832.55,"endTime":1835.14,"body":"He no doubt came across these models"},{"startTime":1835.14,"endTime":1837.828,"body":"by Ludvig Brill of Germany."},{"startTime":1837.828,"endTime":1841.74,"body":"And here you can see a laboratory in,"},{"startTime":1841.74,"endTime":1844.8,"body":"at Johns Hopkins university in Baltimore"},{"startTime":1844.8,"endTime":1848.943,"body":"with lots of these models"},{"startTime":1844.8,"endTime":1848.943,"body":"there, in the cupboards there."},{"startTime":1851.31,"endTime":1853.17,"body":"But unfortunately the models didn't arrive"},{"startTime":1853.17,"endTime":1855.46,"body":"in time for his lecture course."},{"startTime":1855.46,"endTime":1860.3,"body":"So instead he lectured on"},{"startTime":1855.46,"endTime":1860.3,"body":"Tuesdays and Saturday afternoons,"},{"startTime":1860.3,"endTime":1862.28,"body":"that wouldn't be popular now."},{"startTime":1862.28,"endTime":1864.01,"body":"On projective reciprocates"},{"startTime":1864.01,"endTime":1866.21,"body":"and their geometrical applications,"},{"startTime":1866.21,"endTime":1868.123,"body":"a topic from invariant theory."},{"startTime":1870.02,"endTime":1873.51,"body":"Well the models eventually"},{"startTime":1870.02,"endTime":1873.51,"body":"arrived and they still exist."},{"startTime":1873.51,"endTime":1874.49,"body":"They're actually housed"},{"startTime":1874.49,"endTime":1876.49,"body":"in the Mathematical Institute in Oxford."},{"startTime":1877.39,"endTime":1880.31,"body":"But few undergraduates"},{"startTime":1877.39,"endTime":1880.31,"body":"attended his lectures"},{"startTime":1880.31,"endTime":1884.213,"body":"as they were of no help with"},{"startTime":1880.31,"endTime":1884.213,"body":"their university examinations."},{"startTime":1887.32,"endTime":1889.34,"body":"However Sylvester did manage"},{"startTime":1889.34,"endTime":1891.44,"body":"to promote mathematical awareness"},{"startTime":1891.44,"endTime":1894.84,"body":"by founding the Oxford"},{"startTime":1891.44,"endTime":1894.84,"body":"mathematical society."},{"startTime":1894.84,"endTime":1897.15,"body":"And this soon became the main forum"},{"startTime":1897.15,"endTime":1899.503,"body":"for research activity in Oxford."},{"startTime":1901.78,"endTime":1903.38,"body":"Founded in 1888."},{"startTime":1903.38,"endTime":1905.99,"body":"Here you can see a list"},{"startTime":1903.38,"endTime":1905.99,"body":"of the first members."},{"startTime":1905.99,"endTime":1910.71,"body":"It met for many years,"},{"startTime":1905.99,"endTime":1910.71,"body":"right up to the 1970s"},{"startTime":1913.71,"endTime":1917.57,"body":"On the right, you can see"},{"startTime":1913.71,"endTime":1917.57,"body":"Sylvester as president"},{"startTime":1917.57,"endTime":1920.2,"body":"and the secretary was Edwin Elliot,"},{"startTime":1920.2,"endTime":1922.64,"body":"an algebraist who later became"},{"startTime":1922.64,"endTime":1925.513,"body":"the first Waynflete professor"},{"startTime":1922.64,"endTime":1925.513,"body":"of pure mathematics."},{"startTime":1926.95,"endTime":1930.1,"body":"And below them are the two vice presidents"},{"startTime":1931.1,"endTime":1935.57,"body":"Bartholomew Price, Sedleian"},{"startTime":1931.1,"endTime":1935.57,"body":"Professor of natural philosophy"},{"startTime":1935.57,"endTime":1938.1,"body":"and sometime mentor to"},{"startTime":1935.57,"endTime":1938.1,"body":"the Oxford mathematician,"},{"startTime":1938.1,"endTime":1941.733,"body":"Charles Dodgson, better"},{"startTime":1938.1,"endTime":1941.733,"body":"known as Lewis Carroll."},{"startTime":1942.94,"endTime":1945.4,"body":"And also you can see William Esson"},{"startTime":1945.4,"endTime":1947.4,"body":"who became deputy professor"},{"startTime":1947.4,"endTime":1950.35,"body":"when eyesight problems prevented Sylvester"},{"startTime":1950.35,"endTime":1953.89,"body":"from carrying out his Oxford duties."},{"startTime":1953.89,"endTime":1956.56,"body":"It was around 1892 that Sylvester found"},{"startTime":1956.56,"endTime":1958.34,"body":"he couldn't lecture anymore."},{"startTime":1958.34,"endTime":1961.55,"body":"He came to London and Esson continued"},{"startTime":1961.55,"endTime":1963.243,"body":"as his deputy professor."},{"startTime":1966.95,"endTime":1969.21,"body":"Following a brilliant undergraduate career"},{"startTime":1969.21,"endTime":1972.13,"body":"Esson had been appointed"},{"startTime":1969.21,"endTime":1972.13,"body":"a fellow of Merton college"},{"startTime":1972.13,"endTime":1974.46,"body":"shortly after graduation,"},{"startTime":1974.46,"endTime":1977.83,"body":"and was responsible with"},{"startTime":1974.46,"endTime":1977.83,"body":"Henry Smith and others"},{"startTime":1977.83,"endTime":1981.41,"body":"for reintroducing the"},{"startTime":1977.83,"endTime":1981.41,"body":"intercollegiate lecture scheme"},{"startTime":1981.41,"endTime":1983.71,"body":"that would replace college based lectures."},{"startTime":1983.71,"endTime":1985.11,"body":"Up to that time,"},{"startTime":1985.11,"endTime":1987.7,"body":"the professors lectured"},{"startTime":1985.11,"endTime":1987.7,"body":"in their own colleges"},{"startTime":1987.7,"endTime":1989.33,"body":"and the students went there."},{"startTime":1989.33,"endTime":1992.32,"body":"Otherwise students would"},{"startTime":1989.33,"endTime":1992.32,"body":"have all their teaching done"},{"startTime":1992.32,"endTime":1996.88,"body":"in their own colleges and it"},{"startTime":1992.32,"endTime":1996.88,"body":"was through Esson and Smith"},{"startTime":1996.88,"endTime":2001.88,"body":"and so on that the intercollegiate system"},{"startTime":2001.91,"endTime":2003.963,"body":"that we know now came in."},{"startTime":2005.76,"endTime":2008.07,"body":"Most of Esson's academic contributions"},{"startTime":2008.07,"endTime":2010.89,"body":"were not actually directly in mathematics,"},{"startTime":2010.89,"endTime":2015.803,"body":"but were of its use, in"},{"startTime":2010.89,"endTime":2015.803,"body":"particular in chemical kinetics."},{"startTime":2017.87,"endTime":2020.61,"body":"And after Sylvester's death in 1897,"},{"startTime":2020.61,"endTime":2022.84,"body":"Esson was appointed his successor"},{"startTime":2023.91,"endTime":2027.893,"body":"His period as Savilian"},{"startTime":2023.91,"endTime":2027.893,"body":"professor was uneventful,"},{"startTime":2029.17,"endTime":2032.38,"body":"and he died in 1916 during World War I."},{"startTime":2035.88,"endTime":2036.713,"body":"So as a result,"},{"startTime":2036.713,"endTime":2039.783,"body":"his successor was not in"},{"startTime":2036.713,"endTime":2039.783,"body":"post until after the war."},{"startTime":2040.67,"endTime":2042.813,"body":"And this was Godfrey Harold Hardy,"},{"startTime":2043.94,"endTime":2047.38,"body":"the greatest British pure"},{"startTime":2043.94,"endTime":2047.38,"body":"mathematician of the first half"},{"startTime":2047.38,"endTime":2051.25,"body":"of the 20th century, with"},{"startTime":2047.38,"endTime":2051.25,"body":"particular interest in analysis,"},{"startTime":2051.25,"endTime":2053.923,"body":"mathematical analysis"},{"startTime":2051.25,"endTime":2053.923,"body":"and in number theory."},{"startTime":2055.24,"endTime":2058.65,"body":"Although he's mainly"},{"startTime":2055.24,"endTime":2058.65,"body":"remembered as a Cambridge man,"},{"startTime":2058.65,"endTime":2062.35,"body":"he spent his happiest years"},{"startTime":2058.65,"endTime":2062.35,"body":"in Oxford, as he said,"},{"startTime":2062.35,"endTime":2065.09,"body":"producing in 11 years,"},{"startTime":2065.09,"endTime":2068.21,"body":"no fewer them around a hundred papers,"},{"startTime":2068.21,"endTime":2073.21,"body":"many with his longtime"},{"startTime":2068.21,"endTime":2073.21,"body":"collaborator, J.E. Littlewood."},{"startTime":2073.41,"endTime":2076.66,"body":"And here you can see"},{"startTime":2073.41,"endTime":2076.66,"body":"two pictures of Hardy."},{"startTime":2076.66,"endTime":2079.01,"body":"If you look at his"},{"startTime":2076.66,"endTime":2079.01,"body":"mathematician's apology,"},{"startTime":2079.01,"endTime":2081.12,"body":"which I'll show you in a minute,"},{"startTime":2081.12,"endTime":2084.75,"body":"there's a long introduction"},{"startTime":2081.12,"endTime":2084.75,"body":"by C.P. Snow who says that,"},{"startTime":2084.75,"endTime":2089.62,"body":"in fact, he only knew of"},{"startTime":2084.75,"endTime":2089.62,"body":"five photographs of Hardy."},{"startTime":2089.62,"endTime":2091.94,"body":"Hardy didn't like being photographed."},{"startTime":2091.94,"endTime":2095.1,"body":"Well, I know of at least 14,"},{"startTime":2091.94,"endTime":2095.1,"body":"and here are two of them,"},{"startTime":2095.1,"endTime":2097.803,"body":"neither of them I think,"},{"startTime":2095.1,"endTime":2097.803,"body":"known to C.P. Snow."},{"startTime":2099.98,"endTime":2103.273,"body":"But why did Hardy leave Cambridge?"},{"startTime":2104.95,"endTime":2108.09,"body":"After five years of close"},{"startTime":2104.95,"endTime":2108.09,"body":"collaboration at Trinity college"},{"startTime":2108.09,"endTime":2110.233,"body":"with a brilliant Indian genius,"},{"startTime":2111.814,"endTime":2114.88,"body":"Srinivasa Ramanujan shown on the left"},{"startTime":2116.69,"endTime":2120.58,"body":"the latter had fallen"},{"startTime":2116.69,"endTime":2120.58,"body":"ill and returned home"},{"startTime":2120.58,"endTime":2122.343,"body":"leaving Hardy devastated."},{"startTime":2123.9,"endTime":2126.71,"body":"Also disgusted by the pro-war attitudes"},{"startTime":2126.71,"endTime":2128.69,"body":"of the Trinity fellows,"},{"startTime":2128.69,"endTime":2130.716,"body":"especially in their treatment"},{"startTime":2128.69,"endTime":2130.716,"body":"of the young lecturer"},{"startTime":2130.716,"endTime":2133.68,"body":"Bertrand Russell shown in the middle"},{"startTime":2134.57,"endTime":2136.643,"body":"Hardy needed a change of scene."},{"startTime":2138.4,"endTime":2142.727,"body":"Administrative tasks had"},{"startTime":2138.4,"endTime":2142.727,"body":"become increasing irksome"},{"startTime":2143.66,"endTime":2147.16,"body":"and his work with Littlewood"},{"startTime":2143.66,"endTime":2147.16,"body":"shown on the right,"},{"startTime":2147.16,"endTime":2148.963,"body":"was going through a bad patch."},{"startTime":2150.27,"endTime":2152.22,"body":"So Hardy applied to Oxford"},{"startTime":2152.22,"endTime":2156.723,"body":"and duly took up the"},{"startTime":2152.22,"endTime":2156.723,"body":"Savilian chair in early 1920."},{"startTime":2160.87,"endTime":2164.5,"body":"As I mentioned earlier, these"},{"startTime":2160.87,"endTime":2164.5,"body":"positions had for some years"},{"startTime":2164.5,"endTime":2166.89,"body":"been linked to New College,"},{"startTime":2166.89,"endTime":2170.55,"body":"and here's a 1920s view of the college."},{"startTime":2170.55,"endTime":2173.21,"body":"Hardy's rooms were in the block,"},{"startTime":2173.21,"endTime":2175.233,"body":"the new block top of the picture."},{"startTime":2177.24,"endTime":2179.04,"body":"A true college man,"},{"startTime":2179.04,"endTime":2182.49,"body":"Hardy enjoyed the atmosphere"},{"startTime":2179.04,"endTime":2182.49,"body":"of the senior common room"},{"startTime":2182.49,"endTime":2185.52,"body":"and was often the life"},{"startTime":2182.49,"endTime":2185.52,"body":"and soul of the party,"},{"startTime":2185.52,"endTime":2187.02,"body":"getting all his colleagues to play"},{"startTime":2187.02,"endTime":2191.55,"body":"all sorts of clever games,"},{"startTime":2187.02,"endTime":2191.55,"body":"which some of them enjoyed,"},{"startTime":2191.55,"endTime":2192.603,"body":"some of them enjoyed."},{"startTime":2196.18,"endTime":2199.58,"body":"Hardy's inaugural lecture"},{"startTime":2196.18,"endTime":2199.58,"body":"was given in May, 1920"},{"startTime":2199.58,"endTime":2202.28,"body":"on some famous problems"},{"startTime":2199.58,"endTime":2202.28,"body":"from number theory."},{"startTime":2202.28,"endTime":2204.84,"body":"And in particular, he'd become interested"},{"startTime":2204.84,"endTime":2207.3,"body":"in what's called Waring's problem,"},{"startTime":2207.3,"endTime":2209.05,"body":"some famous problems of"},{"startTime":2207.3,"endTime":2209.05,"body":"the theory of numbers"},{"startTime":2209.05,"endTime":2210.8,"body":"and in particular Waring's problem."},{"startTime":2211.98,"endTime":2213.89,"body":"It had long been known that every number"},{"startTime":2213.89,"endTime":2216.803,"body":"can be written as the sum"},{"startTime":2213.89,"endTime":2216.803,"body":"of four perfect squares,"},{"startTime":2217.89,"endTime":2222.433,"body":"or is the sum of nine"},{"startTime":2217.89,"endTime":2222.433,"body":"cubes or 19 fourth powers."},{"startTime":2223.39,"endTime":2225.06,"body":"But can you carry on in this way,"},{"startTime":2225.06,"endTime":2228.45,"body":"can similar statements be"},{"startTime":2225.06,"endTime":2228.45,"body":"made about higher powers?"},{"startTime":2228.45,"endTime":2231.353,"body":"And if so, how many of those"},{"startTime":2228.45,"endTime":2231.353,"body":"higher powers are needed?"},{"startTime":2233.46,"endTime":2235.66,"body":"Well together with"},{"startTime":2233.46,"endTime":2235.66,"body":"Littlewood, Hardy published"},{"startTime":2235.66,"endTime":2238.313,"body":"no fewer than eight papers on the subject."},{"startTime":2239.72,"endTime":2243.11,"body":"Indeed in total, these"},{"startTime":2239.72,"endTime":2243.11,"body":"two Hardy and Littlewood"},{"startTime":2243.11,"endTime":2246.17,"body":"wrote almost a hundred joint papers"},{"startTime":2246.17,"endTime":2248.283,"body":"causing a contemporary to remark,"},{"startTime":2249.577,"endTime":2252.57,"body":"\"there are only three"},{"startTime":2249.577,"endTime":2252.57,"body":"English mathematicians,"},{"startTime":2252.57,"endTime":2256.493,"body":"Hardy, Littlewood and Hardy-Littlewood.\""},{"startTime":2256.493,"endTime":2257.6,"body":"(audience laughs)"},{"startTime":2257.6,"endTime":2259.8,"body":"And this picture taken in Cambridge"},{"startTime":2259.8,"endTime":2262.263,"body":"seems to be the only one of them together."},{"startTime":2266.53,"endTime":2268.82,"body":"Well Hardy disliked tutorial teaching,"},{"startTime":2268.82,"endTime":2270.62,"body":"but he loved lecturing."},{"startTime":2270.62,"endTime":2272.93,"body":"And as a professor of geometry,"},{"startTime":2272.93,"endTime":2277.34,"body":"he gave at least one course of"},{"startTime":2272.93,"endTime":2277.34,"body":"geometry lectures every year,"},{"startTime":2277.34,"endTime":2279.79,"body":"as well as giving a range of other things."},{"startTime":2279.79,"endTime":2281.74,"body":"Number theory, he gave a course"},{"startTime":2281.74,"endTime":2284.3,"body":"of mathematics for philosophers"},{"startTime":2284.3,"endTime":2285.8,"body":"and all sorts of other topics."},{"startTime":2287.593,"endTime":2292.12,"body":"And he also much enjoyed"},{"startTime":2287.593,"endTime":2292.12,"body":"supervising research students."},{"startTime":2292.12,"endTime":2294.59,"body":"In the 1920s, doctoral degrees"},{"startTime":2294.59,"endTime":2296.99,"body":"were being introduced in Oxford."},{"startTime":2296.99,"endTime":2300.743,"body":"And Hardy had several students"},{"startTime":2296.99,"endTime":2300.743,"body":"who later became well known."},{"startTime":2302.66,"endTime":2306.47,"body":"These included his Savilian"},{"startTime":2302.66,"endTime":2306.47,"body":"successor, E.C. Titchmarsh"},{"startTime":2306.47,"endTime":2310.58,"body":"whom we'll meet in a moment"},{"startTime":2306.47,"endTime":2310.58,"body":"and Edward Wright with whom"},{"startTime":2310.58,"endTime":2313.97,"body":"he wrote a celebrated book on"},{"startTime":2310.58,"endTime":2313.97,"body":"number theory and who later"},{"startTime":2313.97,"endTime":2316.62,"body":"became vice chancellor of"},{"startTime":2313.97,"endTime":2316.62,"body":"the University of Aberdeen."},{"startTime":2318.56,"endTime":2321.96,"body":"Hardy was also a strong"},{"startTime":2318.56,"endTime":2321.96,"body":"supporter of women's education."},{"startTime":2321.96,"endTime":2323.2,"body":"And you can see him here"},{"startTime":2323.2,"endTime":2326.053,"body":"with his doctoral"},{"startTime":2323.2,"endTime":2326.053,"body":"student, Mary Cartwright."},{"startTime":2327.88,"endTime":2331.43,"body":"Who later became Mistress of"},{"startTime":2327.88,"endTime":2331.43,"body":"Girton College in Cambridge,"},{"startTime":2331.43,"endTime":2333.86,"body":"and was the first woman"},{"startTime":2331.43,"endTime":2333.86,"body":"to become president"},{"startTime":2333.86,"endTime":2335.853,"body":"of the London Mathematical Society."},{"startTime":2338.76,"endTime":2342.72,"body":"As you can see, one of Hardy's"},{"startTime":2338.76,"endTime":2342.72,"body":"main recreations was cricket."},{"startTime":2342.72,"endTime":2345.78,"body":"And here we see him"},{"startTime":2342.72,"endTime":2345.78,"body":"leading out a cricket team"},{"startTime":2345.78,"endTime":2348.333,"body":"consisting mainly of"},{"startTime":2345.78,"endTime":2348.333,"body":"his research students,"},{"startTime":2349.43,"endTime":2353.563,"body":"during the 1926 British"},{"startTime":2349.43,"endTime":2353.563,"body":"association meeting in Oxford."},{"startTime":2354.75,"endTime":2358.88,"body":"Hardy described this photograph as"},{"startTime":2358.88,"endTime":2361.383,"body":"mathematicians versus"},{"startTime":2358.88,"endTime":2361.383,"body":"the rest of the world."},{"startTime":2366.93,"endTime":2369.76,"body":"A firm internationalist,"},{"startTime":2366.93,"endTime":2369.76,"body":"Hardy worked with others"},{"startTime":2369.76,"endTime":2373.643,"body":"to rehabilitate continental"},{"startTime":2369.76,"endTime":2373.643,"body":"mathematicians after the war."},{"startTime":2374.81,"endTime":2376.315,"body":"In particular, he was active"},{"startTime":2376.315,"endTime":2379.04,"body":"in the Rockefeller foundation scheme"},{"startTime":2379.04,"endTime":2382.66,"body":"for enabling international"},{"startTime":2379.04,"endTime":2382.66,"body":"scientists to work abroad."},{"startTime":2382.66,"endTime":2385.163,"body":"And he hosted some of these in Oxford."},{"startTime":2386.64,"endTime":2388.01,"body":"In particular these included"},{"startTime":2388.01,"endTime":2392.26,"body":"the Hungarian mathematician"},{"startTime":2388.01,"endTime":2392.26,"body":"George Pólya shown here,"},{"startTime":2392.26,"endTime":2395.84,"body":"who visited England for"},{"startTime":2392.26,"endTime":2395.84,"body":"six months with Hardy"},{"startTime":2395.84,"endTime":2399.42,"body":"followed by six months in"},{"startTime":2395.84,"endTime":2399.42,"body":"Cambridge with Littlewood."},{"startTime":2399.42,"endTime":2401.94,"body":"And an outcome, or an outcome of these"},{"startTime":2401.94,"endTime":2404.997,"body":"was their co-authored"},{"startTime":2401.94,"endTime":2404.997,"body":"book on \"Inequalities\"."},{"startTime":2410.62,"endTime":2413.06,"body":"But in addition to his 300 papers,"},{"startTime":2413.06,"endTime":2415.83,"body":"Hardy also wrote several books,"},{"startTime":2415.83,"endTime":2419.97,"body":"including a very influential"},{"startTime":2415.83,"endTime":2419.97,"body":"course on pure mathematics"},{"startTime":2419.97,"endTime":2422.067,"body":"and also his well known retrospective,"},{"startTime":2422.067,"endTime":2426.52,"body":"\"A Mathematician's"},{"startTime":2422.067,"endTime":2426.52,"body":"Apology\" written in 1940,"},{"startTime":2426.52,"endTime":2428.76,"body":"where he describes himself"},{"startTime":2428.76,"endTime":2432.365,"body":"as a mathematician towards"},{"startTime":2428.76,"endTime":2432.365,"body":"the end of his life."},{"startTime":2432.365,"endTime":2435.29,"body":"And \"A Mathematician's"},{"startTime":2432.365,"endTime":2435.29,"body":"Apology\" should really be read"},{"startTime":2435.29,"endTime":2437.23,"body":"by all students of mathematics."},{"startTime":2437.23,"endTime":2439.75,"body":"It is highly recommended"},{"startTime":2437.23,"endTime":2439.75,"body":"whether you agree with what"},{"startTime":2439.75,"endTime":2442.723,"body":"he says or not, it is something"},{"startTime":2439.75,"endTime":2442.723,"body":"that everyone should read."},{"startTime":2445.01,"endTime":2448.81,"body":"He also co-edited Ramanujan's"},{"startTime":2445.01,"endTime":2448.81,"body":"\"Collected Papers\"."},{"startTime":2448.81,"endTime":2452.71,"body":"Ramanujan, as I said"},{"startTime":2448.81,"endTime":2452.71,"body":"had gone back to India"},{"startTime":2452.71,"endTime":2457.623,"body":"and tragically died in"},{"startTime":2452.71,"endTime":2457.623,"body":"1920 at the age of just 32."},{"startTime":2460.53,"endTime":2462.59,"body":"While in Oxford, Hardy became president"},{"startTime":2462.59,"endTime":2465.2,"body":"of the London Mathematical Society"},{"startTime":2465.2,"endTime":2467.72,"body":"and also of other societies."},{"startTime":2467.72,"endTime":2470.02,"body":"And here is the top of his,"},{"startTime":2470.02,"endTime":2472.4,"body":"the beginning of his presidential address"},{"startTime":2472.4,"endTime":2476.67,"body":"to the mathematical association"},{"startTime":2472.4,"endTime":2476.67,"body":"on what is geometry."},{"startTime":2476.67,"endTime":2480.18,"body":"In which he insisted that, \"I do not claim"},{"startTime":2480.18,"endTime":2483.82,"body":"to know any geometry, but"},{"startTime":2480.18,"endTime":2483.82,"body":"I do claim to understand"},{"startTime":2483.82,"endTime":2488.363,"body":"quite clearly what geometry"},{"startTime":2483.82,"endTime":2488.363,"body":"is,\" an interesting distinction."},{"startTime":2494.58,"endTime":2498.01,"body":"In 1931 Cambridge's Sadleirian chair,"},{"startTime":2498.01,"endTime":2501.94,"body":"very prestigious chair became"},{"startTime":2498.01,"endTime":2501.94,"body":"vacant and Hardy decided"},{"startTime":2501.94,"endTime":2505.32,"body":"to return there not least"},{"startTime":2501.94,"endTime":2505.32,"body":"because he could then live"},{"startTime":2505.32,"endTime":2508.5,"body":"at Trinity college forever"},{"startTime":2505.32,"endTime":2508.5,"body":"rather than having to give up"},{"startTime":2508.5,"endTime":2511.133,"body":"his new college rooms upon retirement."},{"startTime":2512.39,"endTime":2515.01,"body":"So over he moved to Cambridge"},{"startTime":2512.39,"endTime":2515.01,"body":"and his Oxford chair"},{"startTime":2515.01,"endTime":2519.61,"body":"was taken by his former research"},{"startTime":2515.01,"endTime":2519.61,"body":"student, Edward Titchmarsh."},{"startTime":2519.61,"endTime":2522.31,"body":"Who heard about the"},{"startTime":2519.61,"endTime":2522.31,"body":"position only by chance,"},{"startTime":2522.31,"endTime":2525.9,"body":"happening to bump into an"},{"startTime":2522.31,"endTime":2525.9,"body":"Oxford mathematical colleague"},{"startTime":2525.9,"endTime":2526.81,"body":"in the street."},{"startTime":2526.81,"endTime":2529.544,"body":"He said, oh, have you applied?"},{"startTime":2526.81,"endTime":2529.544,"body":"The deadlines tomorrow."},{"startTime":2529.544,"endTime":2530.502,"body":"(audience laughs)"},{"startTime":2530.502,"endTime":2534.41,"body":"And also Titchmarsh"},{"startTime":2530.502,"endTime":2534.41,"body":"stipulated that if appointed,"},{"startTime":2534.41,"endTime":2537.12,"body":"he could not undertake"},{"startTime":2534.41,"endTime":2537.12,"body":"to lecture on geometry."},{"startTime":2537.12,"endTime":2539.62,"body":"And his application was only a page long"},{"startTime":2539.62,"endTime":2541.4,"body":"and so done rather roughly."},{"startTime":2541.4,"endTime":2544.707,"body":"But anyway, he was appointed."},{"startTime":2544.707,"endTime":2547.49,"body":"And the requirement to"},{"startTime":2544.707,"endTime":2547.49,"body":"have to lecture on geometry"},{"startTime":2547.49,"endTime":2548.65,"body":"was duly dropped."},{"startTime":2548.65,"endTime":2550.45,"body":"And the Savilian professor of geometry"},{"startTime":2550.45,"endTime":2553.653,"body":"can now come from any"},{"startTime":2550.45,"endTime":2553.653,"body":"area of pure mathematics."},{"startTime":2557.74,"endTime":2560.373,"body":"Here are two letters sent to Titchmarsh."},{"startTime":2563.57,"endTime":2566.54,"body":"The first on the left from"},{"startTime":2563.57,"endTime":2566.54,"body":"the university registry,"},{"startTime":2566.54,"endTime":2569.663,"body":"is his appointment letter"},{"startTime":2566.54,"endTime":2569.663,"body":"as Savilian professor."},{"startTime":2571.1,"endTime":2575.903,"body":"Which I obtained a picture of"},{"startTime":2571.1,"endTime":2575.903,"body":"from the Titchmarsh family."},{"startTime":2577.14,"endTime":2580.15,"body":"On the right is a letter sent to him"},{"startTime":2580.15,"endTime":2583.583,"body":"on a problem in analysis by G.H. Hardy."},{"startTime":2584.55,"endTime":2586.96,"body":"Dear Titchmarsh, and then he"},{"startTime":2584.55,"endTime":2586.96,"body":"goes straight into the problem,"},{"startTime":2586.96,"endTime":2587.883,"body":"no preamble."},{"startTime":2591.57,"endTime":2595.42,"body":"Like Hardy, Titchmarsh published"},{"startTime":2591.57,"endTime":2595.42,"body":"several influential books"},{"startTime":2595.42,"endTime":2598.083,"body":"in addition to his many research papers."},{"startTime":2599.12,"endTime":2601.54,"body":"The first was a short monograph"},{"startTime":2601.54,"endTime":2603.61,"body":"on the Riemann zeta function"},{"startTime":2603.61,"endTime":2606.993,"body":"which he later expanded into a major book."},{"startTime":2608.58,"endTime":2610.38,"body":"Another was his \"Theory of Functions\""},{"startTime":2610.38,"endTime":2613.04,"body":"on real and complex analysis,"},{"startTime":2613.04,"endTime":2616.19,"body":"which I studied for many long hours"},{"startTime":2616.19,"endTime":2617.703,"body":"when I was taking finals."},{"startTime":2619.01,"endTime":2621.6,"body":"And this book was once"},{"startTime":2619.01,"endTime":2621.6,"body":"described as the rebellion of a"},{"startTime":2621.6,"endTime":2624.5,"body":"young, widely read professor"},{"startTime":2621.6,"endTime":2624.5,"body":"against a narrow range"},{"startTime":2624.5,"endTime":2628.273,"body":"to which mathematical analysis"},{"startTime":2624.5,"endTime":2628.273,"body":"was then so often confined."},{"startTime":2629.475,"endTime":2631.61,"body":"It didn't excite me"},{"startTime":2629.475,"endTime":2631.61,"body":"quite as much as it did"},{"startTime":2631.61,"endTime":2636.023,"body":"the writer of that, but even"},{"startTime":2631.61,"endTime":2636.023,"body":"so it helps me take my finals."},{"startTime":2637.55,"endTime":2640.813,"body":"But Titchmarsh's method of"},{"startTime":2637.55,"endTime":2640.813,"body":"writing books was rather unusual."},{"startTime":2642.93,"endTime":2646.143,"body":"He would research a topic for a few years."},{"startTime":2647.26,"endTime":2649.453,"body":"And then sign off by writing a book on it."},{"startTime":2650.58,"endTime":2653.07,"body":"And then he moved on to a"},{"startTime":2650.58,"endTime":2653.07,"body":"completely different area"},{"startTime":2653.07,"endTime":2654.643,"body":"and repeated the process."},{"startTime":2658.25,"endTime":2661.4,"body":"But in January of 1963,"},{"startTime":2661.4,"endTime":2664.82,"body":"Titchmarsh died suddenly and unexpectedly,"},{"startTime":2664.82,"endTime":2667.707,"body":"and his place was taken by Michael Atiyah,"},{"startTime":2668.566,"endTime":2669.966,"body":"or later Sir Michael Atiyah."},{"startTime":2670.85,"endTime":2673.18,"body":"Larger than life in personality,"},{"startTime":2673.18,"endTime":2675.88,"body":"he occupied the chair for five years"},{"startTime":2675.88,"endTime":2677.72,"body":"and he was a genuine geometer"},{"startTime":2677.72,"endTime":2680.343,"body":"with a wide interest also in other areas."},{"startTime":2683.33,"endTime":2684.17,"body":"Atiyah worked with many"},{"startTime":2684.17,"endTime":2687.41,"body":"distinguished mathematicians"},{"startTime":2684.17,"endTime":2687.41,"body":"from around the world."},{"startTime":2687.41,"endTime":2690.75,"body":"Here are three of his"},{"startTime":2687.41,"endTime":2690.75,"body":"collaborators whose names will be"},{"startTime":2690.75,"endTime":2695.4,"body":"known to mathematicians,"},{"startTime":2690.75,"endTime":2695.4,"body":"Friedrich Hertzberg from Germany,"},{"startTime":2695.4,"endTime":2699.38,"body":"Isadore Singer from the"},{"startTime":2695.4,"endTime":2699.38,"body":"U.S. and Raoul Bott,"},{"startTime":2699.38,"endTime":2703.53,"body":"a U.S. citizen of Austrian"},{"startTime":2699.38,"endTime":2703.53,"body":"Hungarian descent."},{"startTime":2703.53,"endTime":2705.75,"body":"And all of them visited him in Oxford,"},{"startTime":2705.75,"endTime":2708.673,"body":"sometimes for extended periods of time."},{"startTime":2711.83,"endTime":2714.4,"body":"Work with Hertzberg led"},{"startTime":2711.83,"endTime":2714.4,"body":"to the development of"},{"startTime":2714.4,"endTime":2718.093,"body":"of an area of mathematics"},{"startTime":2714.4,"endTime":2718.093,"body":"known as K-theory,"},{"startTime":2718.95,"endTime":2722.21,"body":"and also with, with"},{"startTime":2718.95,"endTime":2722.21,"body":"Singer to the so-called"},{"startTime":2722.21,"endTime":2724.51,"body":"Atiyah-Singer index theorem."},{"startTime":2724.51,"endTime":2726.16,"body":"For which they were jointly awarded"},{"startTime":2726.16,"endTime":2728.52,"body":"the prestigious Abel prize,"},{"startTime":2728.52,"endTime":2732.55,"body":"an equivalent if you like"},{"startTime":2728.52,"endTime":2732.55,"body":"of the Nobel prize in 2004"},{"startTime":2732.55,"endTime":2735.583,"body":"by King Herald of Norway as shown below."},{"startTime":2738.5,"endTime":2741.66,"body":"Many years earlier in 1966,"},{"startTime":2741.66,"endTime":2745.53,"body":"Atiyah had received a Fields Medal."},{"startTime":2745.53,"endTime":2746.76,"body":"The International Award"},{"startTime":2746.76,"endTime":2749.58,"body":"for Mathematicians under the age of 40,"},{"startTime":2749.58,"endTime":2753.49,"body":"and the top picture recalls"},{"startTime":2749.58,"endTime":2753.49,"body":"the three Fields Medalists"},{"startTime":2753.49,"endTime":2756.82,"body":"who coincided for a while at Oxford."},{"startTime":2756.82,"endTime":2760.233,"body":"Two others Simon Donaldson"},{"startTime":2756.82,"endTime":2760.233,"body":"and Daniel Quillen."},{"startTime":2763.38,"endTime":2766.9,"body":"Michael Atiyah was Knighted in 1983,"},{"startTime":2766.9,"endTime":2770.583,"body":"and received the Order of Merit in 1992."},{"startTime":2772.1,"endTime":2776.92,"body":"He finally left Oxford in"},{"startTime":2772.1,"endTime":2776.92,"body":"1990 to become simultaneously"},{"startTime":2776.92,"endTime":2779.98,"body":"Master of Trinity college Cambridge,"},{"startTime":2779.98,"endTime":2783.56,"body":"Director of the new Isaac"},{"startTime":2779.98,"endTime":2783.56,"body":"Newton Institute there"},{"startTime":2783.56,"endTime":2785.76,"body":"oh, and also president"},{"startTime":2783.56,"endTime":2785.76,"body":"of the Royal society."},{"startTime":2790.71,"endTime":2794.25,"body":"In 1969, Atiyah's place"},{"startTime":2790.71,"endTime":2794.25,"body":"as Savilian professor"},{"startTime":2794.25,"endTime":2797.14,"body":"had been taken by the"},{"startTime":2794.25,"endTime":2797.14,"body":"topologist and Ioan James"},{"startTime":2797.14,"endTime":2799.883,"body":"who was in post for over 25 years."},{"startTime":2801.89,"endTime":2803.17,"body":"Following in the footsteps"},{"startTime":2803.17,"endTime":2806.48,"body":"of his Oxford doctoral"},{"startTime":2803.17,"endTime":2806.48,"body":"supervisor Henry Whitehead,"},{"startTime":2806.48,"endTime":2809.47,"body":"he quickly achieved an"},{"startTime":2806.48,"endTime":2809.47,"body":"international reputation"},{"startTime":2809.47,"endTime":2812.89,"body":"for his work topology,"},{"startTime":2809.47,"endTime":2812.89,"body":"and he wrote and edited"},{"startTime":2812.89,"endTime":2816.06,"body":"many influential books"},{"startTime":2812.89,"endTime":2816.06,"body":"and papers on the subject."},{"startTime":2816.06,"endTime":2819.23,"body":"And this bust of him at the top"},{"startTime":2819.23,"endTime":2821.283,"body":"is in Oxford's mathematical institute."},{"startTime":2822.88,"endTime":2824.64,"body":"Incidentally his supervisor,"},{"startTime":2824.64,"endTime":2826.92,"body":"Henry Whitehead that"},{"startTime":2824.64,"endTime":2826.92,"body":"you can see top right,"},{"startTime":2826.92,"endTime":2830.35,"body":"he was also a pig farmer"},{"startTime":2826.92,"endTime":2830.35,"body":"who claimed to get"},{"startTime":2830.35,"endTime":2832.47,"body":"the mathematical"},{"startTime":2830.35,"endTime":2832.47,"body":"inspiration for his theorems"},{"startTime":2832.47,"endTime":2834.323,"body":"by scratching the backs of his pigs."},{"startTime":2835.8,"endTime":2838.21,"body":"He was always in the Mathematical"},{"startTime":2835.8,"endTime":2838.21,"body":"Institute in the morning,"},{"startTime":2838.21,"endTime":2840.62,"body":"then at lunchtime he"},{"startTime":2838.21,"endTime":2840.62,"body":"went back to the farm,"},{"startTime":2840.62,"endTime":2842.08,"body":"scratched the backs of his pigs"},{"startTime":2842.08,"endTime":2843.694,"body":"and wrote his mathematical papers."},{"startTime":2843.694,"endTime":2844.95,"body":"(audience laughs)"},{"startTime":2844.95,"endTime":2848.21,"body":"I always said that the Oxford"},{"startTime":2844.95,"endTime":2848.21,"body":"mathematical Institute should"},{"startTime":2848.21,"endTime":2852.033,"body":"have a permanent pig there,"},{"startTime":2848.21,"endTime":2852.033,"body":"but that hasn't been taken up."},{"startTime":2854.87,"endTime":2858.457,"body":"On Ioan James' retirement in 1995,"},{"startTime":2858.457,"endTime":2861.323,"body":"Richard Taylor was appointed."},{"startTime":2862.19,"endTime":2866.12,"body":"Two years earlier, Andrew"},{"startTime":2862.19,"endTime":2866.12,"body":"Wiles, who you can see below"},{"startTime":2866.12,"endTime":2869.17,"body":"had presented a proof"},{"startTime":2866.12,"endTime":2869.17,"body":"of Fermat's Last theorem"},{"startTime":2869.17,"endTime":2871.52,"body":"that the equation X to"},{"startTime":2869.17,"endTime":2871.52,"body":"the N plus Y to the N"},{"startTime":2871.52,"endTime":2872.67,"body":"is Z to the N,"},{"startTime":2872.67,"endTime":2876.983,"body":"has no positive solutions"},{"startTime":2872.67,"endTime":2876.983,"body":"if N is at least three."},{"startTime":2878.86,"endTime":2881.46,"body":"But unfortunately there turned"},{"startTime":2878.86,"endTime":2881.46,"body":"out to be a gap in the proof."},{"startTime":2881.46,"endTime":2884.6,"body":"And it was Richard Taylor"},{"startTime":2881.46,"endTime":2884.6,"body":"who collaborated with Wiles"},{"startTime":2884.6,"endTime":2885.803,"body":"to fill this gap."},{"startTime":2886.93,"endTime":2889.59,"body":"But unfortunately, Richard"},{"startTime":2886.93,"endTime":2889.59,"body":"Taylor stayed in Oxford"},{"startTime":2889.59,"endTime":2892.91,"body":"for only a year leaving"},{"startTime":2889.59,"endTime":2892.91,"body":"to take up an appointment"},{"startTime":2892.91,"endTime":2894.333,"body":"at Harvard university."},{"startTime":2898.86,"endTime":2902.03,"body":"So we come finally to the most"},{"startTime":2898.86,"endTime":2902.03,"body":"recent Savilian professors,"},{"startTime":2902.03,"endTime":2904.043,"body":"Nigel Hitchin and Frances Kirwan."},{"startTime":2905.39,"endTime":2908.15,"body":"I won't say much about"},{"startTime":2905.39,"endTime":2908.15,"body":"them except to remark"},{"startTime":2908.15,"endTime":2911.14,"body":"that Nigel held the position for 20 years"},{"startTime":2911.14,"endTime":2913.86,"body":"and was interviewed for the book."},{"startTime":2913.86,"endTime":2917.36,"body":"And that Frances who wrote"},{"startTime":2913.86,"endTime":2917.36,"body":"the chapter on Michael Atiyah,"},{"startTime":2917.36,"endTime":2920.94,"body":"her doctoral supervisor and"},{"startTime":2917.36,"endTime":2920.94,"body":"who also wrote the books"},{"startTime":2920.94,"endTime":2924.2,"body":"forward is still in"},{"startTime":2920.94,"endTime":2924.2,"body":"post having now held it"},{"startTime":2924.2,"endTime":2925.723,"body":"for almost five years."},{"startTime":2926.77,"endTime":2930.92,"body":"And very appropriately"},{"startTime":2926.77,"endTime":2930.92,"body":"Frances was recently awarded"},{"startTime":2930.92,"endTime":2934.89,"body":"the Royal society's very"},{"startTime":2930.92,"endTime":2934.89,"body":"prestigious Sylvester Medal,"},{"startTime":2934.89,"endTime":2938.183,"body":"named of course after one of"},{"startTime":2934.89,"endTime":2938.183,"body":"her Savilian predecessors."},{"startTime":2942.1,"endTime":2943.723,"body":"So to conclude, our book"},{"startTime":2943.723,"endTime":2947.01,"body":"on the \"Savilian Professors of Geometry\""},{"startTime":2947.01,"endTime":2949.663,"body":"is now available from"},{"startTime":2947.01,"endTime":2949.663,"body":"Oxford University press,"},{"startTime":2950.67,"endTime":2953.973,"body":"and can be ordered from them online."},{"startTime":2954.88,"endTime":2956.5,"body":"But for more general information"},{"startTime":2956.5,"endTime":2959.85,"body":"about mathematics in Oxford"},{"startTime":2956.5,"endTime":2959.85,"body":"over the past 800 years"},{"startTime":2959.85,"endTime":2962.27,"body":"and not just the Savilian professors,"},{"startTime":2962.27,"endTime":2964.8,"body":"please see the book \"Oxford Figures\""},{"startTime":2964.8,"endTime":2968.65,"body":"edited by John Fauvel,"},{"startTime":2964.8,"endTime":2968.65,"body":"Raymond Flood and myself,"},{"startTime":2968.65,"endTime":2971.593,"body":"with this edition published in 2013."},{"startTime":2972.67,"endTime":2975.64,"body":"And finally, may I thank you"},{"startTime":2972.67,"endTime":2975.64,"body":"for listening. Thank you."},{"startTime":2975.64,"endTime":2978.723,"body":"(audience applauds)"}]}