'David Gregory' (
June 3,
1659—
October 10,
1708) was a
professor of
mathematics at the
University of Edinburgh,
Savilian Professor of
astronomy at the
University of Oxford, and a commentator on
Isaac Newton's ''
Principia''.
Born in
Aberdeen,
Scotland, the nephew of astronomer and mathematician
James Gregory, Gregory studied at
Marischal College,
University of Aberdeen, from
1671 to
1675, beginning when he was only 12 years old. (There is, however, no evidence that he received a degree.) After his university studies, still only 16 years old, Gregory visited several countries on the continent and did not return to Scotland until
1683. At the age of 24 he was appointed professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh.
In
1690, during a period of political and religious unrest in Scotland, Gregory decided to leave for
England where, in
1691, he was elected Savilian Professor at the University of Oxford, due in large part to the influence of
Isaac Newton. The same year he was elected to be a
Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1692, he was elected a Fellow of
Balliol College, Oxford.
External links
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Significant Scots: David Gregory
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Papers of David Gregory