Professor John Playfair FRSE (March 10, 1748 – July 20, 1819) was a Scottish scientist. A professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) (prof for short) is a senior teacher, lecturer and researcher, usually in a college or university. ... The Royal Society of Edinburghs Building on the corner of George St. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (70th in Leap years). ... Events April 24 - A congress assembles at Aix-la-Chapelle with the intent to conclude the struggle known as the War of Austrian Succession - at October 18 - The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is signed to end the war Adam Smith begins to deliver public lectures in Edinburgh Building of... July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... ... A scientist is a man who is an expert in at least one area of science and who uses the scientific method to do research. ...

Playfair was professor of mathematics and later professor of natural philosophy at Edinburgh University. He is perhaps best known for his book Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth (1802), which was a summary of the work of James Hutton. It was through this that Hutton's principal of uniformitarianism, later taken up by Charles Lyell, first reached a wide audience. Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Mathematics Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mathematics Look up Mathematics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mathematics Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles — A collection of articles on various math topics, with interactive Java... Natural philosophy is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe before the development of modern science. ... The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 as a renowned centre for teaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... --69. ... James Hutton, painted by Abner Lowe. ... Within scientific philosophy, uniformitarianism is the principle in which one assumes that the same processes that shaped the Universe occurred then as they do now, unless there is good evidence otherwise. ... Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell (November 14, 1797 – February 22, 1875), British lawyer, geologist, and popularizer of uniformitarianism. ...

John Playfair.

In 1795 Playfair created an alternative formulation of Euclid's parallel postulate called Playfair's axiom. Download high resolution version (807x876, 174 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (807x876, 174 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Euclid Euclid of Alexandria (Greek: ) (ca. ... a and b are parallel, the transversal t produces congruent angles. ...

Early life

Born at Benvie, Angus, Scotland, where his father was parish minister, he was educated at home until the age of fourteen, when he entered the University of St Andrews. In 1766, when only eighteen, he was candidate for the chair of mathematics in Marischal College, Aberdeen, and, although he was unsuccessful, his claims were admitted to be high. Angus (Aonghas in Gaelic) is one of the traditional counties and also one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland and a Lieutenancy area. ... A parish is a type of administrative subdivision. ... In most Protestant churches, a minister is a member of the ordained clergy who leads a congregation or participates in a role in a parachurch ministry; such a person may also be called a Pastor, Preacher, Bishop, Chaplain or Elder. ... The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410 and 1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland (and third oldest in the English speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge ). The university is situated in the Royal Burgh of St Andrews, on the east coast of Scotland. ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Marschal College viewed from Upper Kirkgate Marischal College was founded in 1593 in Aberdeen by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal of Scotland. ... Aberdeens location in Scotland Aberdeen (Scottish Gaelic: Obar Dheathain) is Scotlands third largest city, with a population of 212,125, and the greatest part of the unitary council area named the City of Aberdeen, which is surrounded by, but not within, the Aberdeenshire council area. ...

Six years later he made application for the chair of natural philosophy in his own university, but again without success, and in 1773 he was offered and accepted the benefice of the united parishes of Liff and Benvie, vacant by the death of his father. He continued, however, to carry on his mathematical and physical studies, and in 1782 he resigned his charge in order to become the tutor of Ferguson of Raith. By this arrangement he was able to be frequently in Edinburgh and to cultivate the literary and scientific society for which it was at that time specially distinguished. Through Nevil Maskelyne, whose acquaintance he had first made in the course of the celebrated Schiehallion experiments in 1774, he also gained access to the scientific circles of London. In 1785 when Dugald Stewart succeeded Ferguson in the Edinburgh chair of moral philosophy, Playfair succeeded the former in that of mathematics. 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Originally a benefice was a gift of land for life as a reward (Latin beneficium, means to do well) for services rendered. ... A parish is a type of administrative subdivision. ... Layered Image File Format (LIFF) is a file format used in the Openlab suite for microscope image processing. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Adam Ferguson, sometimes known as Ferguson of Raith (June 20, 1723 – February 22, 1816) was a philosopher, proto-sociologist and historian in the Scottish Enlightenment. ... Edinburgh (pronounced ), Dùn Èideann () in Scottish Gaelic, is the second-largest city in Scotland and its capital city. ... Scottish literature is literature written in Scotland or by Scottish writers. ... Nevil Maskelyne. ... Schiehallion, a mountain (technically a Munro) in Perthshire, Scotland, is popular with walkers due to its accessibility, easy path up and spectacular views - in 2000 it was estimated that annually between 17500 and 20000 walkers made the ascent [1]. The origin of the name is unclear but Fairy Hill of... 1774 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7. ... 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Dugald Stewart. ... Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the science (study) of morality. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is good or right. ...

Mature work

In 1802, he published his celebrated volume entitled Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth. The influence exerted by James Hutton on the development of geology is thought to be largely due to its publication. In 1805 he exchanged the chair of mathematics for that of natural philosophy in succession to John Robison, whom also he succeeded as general secretary to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He took a prominent part, on the liberal side, in the ecclesiastical controversy that arose in connexion with Sir John Leslie's appointment to the post he had vacated, and published a satirical Letter (1806). --69. ... James Hutton, painted by Abner Lowe. ... Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... John Robison (February 4, 1739 - January 30, 1805) was a Scottish physicist and inventor. ... The term General Secretary (alternatively First Secretary) denotes a leader of various unions, parties or associations. ... The Royal Society of Edinburghs Building on the corner of George St. ... Look up liberal on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Liberal may refer to: Politics: Liberalism American liberalism, a political trend in the USA Political progressivism, a political ideology that is for change, often associated with liberal movements Liberty, the condition of being free from control or restrictions Liberal Party, members of... This article should be transwikied to wiktionary Ecclesiastical means pertaining to the Church (especially Christianity) as an organized body of believers and clergy, with a stress on its juridical and institutional structure. ... Sir John Leslie (April 10, 1766 - November 3, 1832) was a Scottish mathematician and physicist best remembered for his research into heat Born in Largo, Fife, Leslie gave the first modern account of capillary action in 1802 and froze water using an air-pump in 1810, the first artificial production... Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject (individuals, organizations, states) often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Playfair was an opponent of Gottfried Leibniz's vis viva principle, an early version of the conservation of energy. In 1808, he launched an attack^[1] on John Smeaton and William Hyde Wollaston's work championing the theory. Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (also Leibnitz) (July 1 (June 21 Old Style) 1646, Leipzig – November 14, 1716, Hanover) was a German polymath, deemed a genius in his lifetime and since, and the last true polyhistor. ... Vis Viva is the principle that the difference between the aggregate work of the accelerating forces of a system and that of the retarding forces is equal to one half the vis viva accumulated or lost in the system while the work is being done. ... Conservation of energy is possibly the most important, and certainly the most practically useful of several conservation laws in physics. ... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Portrait of John Smeaton, with the Eddystone Lighthouse in the background. ... William Hyde Wollaston (August 6, 1766 – December 22, 1828) was an English chemist who is famous for discovering two chemical elements and for developing a way to process platinum ore. ...

He died in Edinburgh.

Family

John's brothers were the celebrated architect James Playfair who died in 1794 and the engineer William Playfair ^[2]. 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... William Playfair (September 22, 1759 - February 11, 1823) a Scottish engineer and political economist, was an important inventor of statistical graphics. ...

Honours

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
• Fellow of the Royal Society of London, 1807
• Craters on Mars and the Moon were named in his honor.

The Royal Society of Edinburghs Building on the corner of George St. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... 1807 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about impact craters, also known as meteor craters. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... Crust composition Oxygen 43% Silicon 21% Aluminium 10% Calcium 9% Iron 9% Magnesium 5% Titanium 2% Nickel 0. ...

Notes

1. ^ Edinburgh Review, 12, 1808, 120–130
2. ^ Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen (1856), reproduced in Significant Scots

Critical bibliography

A collected edition of Playfair's works, with a memoir by James G. Playfair, appeared at Edinburgh in 4 vols. 8vo.

His writings include a number of essays contributed to the Edinburgh Review from 1804 onwards, various papers in the Phil. Trans. (including his earliest publication, " On the Arithmetic of Impossible Quantities," 1779, and an " Account of the Lithological Survey of Schehallion," 1811) and in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (" On the Causes which affect the Accuracy of Barometrical Measurements," &c.), also the articles "Aepinus" and "Physical Astronomy," and a "Dissertation on the Progress of Mathematical and Physical Science since the Revival of Learning in Europe," in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (Supplement to fourth, fifth and sixth editions). The Edinburgh Review was one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1779 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... ...

His Elements of Geometry first appeared in 1795 and have passed through many editions; his Outlines of Natural Philosophy (2 vols., 1812-1816) consist of the propositions and formulae which were the basis of his class lectures. Playfair's contributions to pure mathematics were not considerable, his paper "On the Arithmetic of Impossible Quantities," that " On the Causes which affect the Accuracy of Barometrical Measurements," and his Elements of Geometry, all already referred to, being the most important. His lives of Matthew Stewart, Hutton, Robison, many of his reviews, and above all his "Dissertation" are of the utmost value. 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically (as in a mathematical or chemical formula) or a general relationship between quantities. ... Broadly speaking, pure mathematics is mathematics motivated entirely for reasons other than application. ... Matthew Stewart (1717 - January 23, 1785) was born in Rothesay, Scotland and died in Edinburgh. ... Hutton is a village in south Essex. ... A review is a piece of writing that discusses the authors opinion on a piece of publication, such as a movie, video game, musical composition, book or novel. ... This article is about the thesis in dialectics and academia. ...

External links

• Biography at the MacTutor archive
• Significant Scots: John Playfair

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References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain.