Whiston , William

Whiston , William
(1667–1752) British mathematician and geologist
Whiston, the son of a parish priest from Norton in England, was educated at Cambridge University, where he came to the attention of Isaac Newton. He was selected, on Newton's recommendation, to succeed him as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics (1703) and to edit his Arithmetica universalis (1707; Universal Arithmetic). In 1710 he was dismissed from the university for his unorthodox religious belief in the Arian heresy, after which time he supported himself by giving public lectures on popular science.
Whiston's chief scientific work, A New Theory of the Earth(1696), was praised by Newton and by John Locke. In this Whiston followed the tradition recently established by Thomas Burnet in attempting to explain biblical events, such as the Creation, scientifically. The Flood, he believed, was caused by a comet pasing close to the Earth on 28 November 2349 BC. This put stress on the Earth's crust, causing it to crack and allow the water to escape and flood the Earth.

Scientists. . 2011.

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  • Whiston, William — ▪ Anglican priest and mathematician born Dec. 9, 1667, Norton, Leicestershire, Eng. died Aug. 22, 1752, Lyndon, Rutland  Anglican (Anglicanism) priest and mathematician who sought to harmonize religion and science, and who is remembered for… …   Universalium

  • WHISTON, WILLIAM —    divine and mathematician, born in Leicestershire; educated at Clare College, Cambridge, of which he became a Fellow; gained reputation from his Theory of the Earth ; succeeded Sir Isaac Newton as Lucasian professor, but was discharged from the …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Whiston, William — (1667 1752)    Theologian, and man of science, b. at Norton, Leicestershire, and ed. at Camb., where he succeeded Newton as Lucasian Prof. of Mathematics, was a prominent advocate of the Newtonian system, and wrote a Theory of the Earth against… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • William Whiston — (* 9. Dezember 1667 in Norton im County Leicestershire; † 22. August 1752 in Kensington) war ein englischer Theologe und Physiker. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Whiston — (1667 1752) Portrait de W. Whiston par Benjamin Wilson  …   Wikipédia en Français

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  • Whiston — is the name of several places in England:* Whiston, Merseyside * Whiston, Northamptonshire * Whiston, South Yorkshireee also* William Whiston …   Wikipedia

  • Whiston — ist der Name von William Whiston (1667–1752), englischer Theologe und Physiker und Namensgeber des Dorsa Whiston, einem Höhenzug auf dem Mond Whiston ist ein Ort in der englischen Grafschaft Merseyside, siehe Whiston (Merseyside) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Martin Russel — William Willy Martin Russell (* 23. August 1947 in Whiston bei Liverpool) ist ein englischer Autor, Dramaturg, Lyriker und Komponist. Russell kommt aus einer Arbeiterfamilie. Als Jugendlicher arbeitete er als Friseurlehrling, später betrieb er… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Whiston — (spr. Uist n), William, geb. 1667 zu Northon in Leicestershire, studirte bis 1694 in Cambridge, wurde Caplan des Bischofs von Norwich, dann Pfarrer von Lowestoft in Suffolk u. 1703 Professor der Mathematik in Cambridge, verlor aber seiner… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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