The incumbent of the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics, the Lucasian Professor is the holder of a mathematical professorship at Cambridge University. The post was founded in 1663 by Henry Lucas, who was Cambridge University's Member of Parliament from 1639–1640, and was officially established by King Charles II on January 18, 1664. Lucas, in his will, bequeathed his library of 4,000 volumes to the University and left instruction for the purchase of land whose yielding would provide £100 a year for the founding of a professorship. One of the requirements in Lucas' will was that the holder of the professorship should not be active in the church. Isaac Newton would later appeal to King Charles II that this requirement excused him from taking holy orders, which was compulsory for all Fellows of the University at that time, but which would have been incompatible with his beliefs that were contrary to those of the Anglican Church. The King supported Newton and excused all holders of the professorship, in perpetuity, from the requirement to take holy orders. Euclid, a famous Greek mathematician known as the father of geometry, is shown here in detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. ... A professor giving a lecture The meaning of the word professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) varies. ... The University of Cambridge (often called Cambridge University, or just Cambridge), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... // Events Prix de Rome scholarship established for students of the arts. ... The Reverend Henry Lucas (c. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... Events January 14 - Connecticuts first constitution, the Fundamental Orders, is adopted. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ... Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events March 12 - New Jersey becomes a colony of England. ... In the common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. ... A church building (or simply church) is a building used in Christian worship. ... Sir Isaac Newton, President of the Royal Society, (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) [OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727] was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, and natural philosopher who is generally regarded as one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians in history. ... Roman Catholic deacon candidates prostrate before the altar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles during a 2004 diaconate ordination liturgy Holy Orders in the modern Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, and Independent Catholic Churches, includes... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ...

The current Lucasian Professor of Mathematics is renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. He was appointed in 1980. Theoretical physics attempts to understand the world by making a model of reality, used for rationalizing, explaining, predicting physical phenomena through a physical theory. There are three types of theories in physics; mainstream theories, proposed theories and fringe theories. ... Stephen William Hawking (born 8 January 1942) CH, CBE, FRS, is considered one of the worlds leading theoretical physicists. ...

List of Lucasian Professors

• 1664 Isaac Barrow
• 1669 Sir Isaac Newton
• 1702 William Whiston
• 1711 Nicholas Saunderson
• 1739 John Colson
• 1760 Edward Waring
• 1798 Isaac Milner
• 1820 Robert Woodhouse
• 1822 Thomas Turton
• 1826 Sir George Airy
• 1828 Charles Babbage
• 1839 Joshua King
• 1849 Sir George Stokes
• 1903 Sir Joseph Larmor
• 1932 Paul Dirac
• 1969 Sir James Lighthill
• 1980 Stephen Hawking

Events March 12 - New Jersey becomes a colony of England. ... Isaac Barrow Isaac Barrow (1630 - May 4, 1677) was an English divine, scholar and mathematician who is generally given minor credit for his role in the development of modern calculus; in particular, for his work regarding the tangent; for example, Barrow is given credit for being the first to calculate... // Events Samuel Pepys stopped writing his diary. ... Sir Isaac Newton, President of the Royal Society, (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) [OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727] was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, and natural philosopher who is generally regarded as one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians in history. ... Events March 8 - William III died; Princess Anne Stuart becomes Queen Anne of England, Scotland and Ireland. ... William Whiston William Whiston (December 9, 1667 - August 22, 1752), English divine and mathematician, was born at Norton in Leicestershire, of which village his father was rector. ... // Events February 24 - The London premiere of Rinaldo by George Friderich Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage. ... Nicolas Saunderson (1682–April 9, 1739) was an English scientist and mathematician. ... // About the number 1739 1739 is the smallest integer that can be written as sum of three perfect cubes, in two ways. ... Johnathan John Colson was a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University. ... 1760 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Edward Waring (1736 - August 15, 1798) was British mathematician who was born in Old Heath (near Shrewsbury) Shropshire England and died in Pontesbury Shropshire England He was Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge University from 1760 until his death. ... 1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Category: ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Robert Woodhouse (April 28, 1773 - December 23, 1827), mathematician. ... 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Category: ... The oldest surviving photograph, Nicéphore Niépce, circa 1826 1826 (MDCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... George Biddell Airy Sir George Biddell Airy (July 27, 1801 – January 2, 1892) was British Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881. ... 1828 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English mathematician, analytical philosopher, mechanical engineer and (proto-) computer scientist who originated the idea of a programmable computer. ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Category: ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... George Gabriel Stokes Sir George Gabriel Stokes, 1st Baronet (13 August 1819–1 February 1903) was an Anglo-Irish mathematician and physicist. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Sir Joseph Larmor (July 11, 1857 - May 19, 1942), an Irish physicist and mathematician, researched electricity, dynamics, and thermodynamics. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM FRS (IPA: [dɪræk]) (August 8, 1902 – October 20, 1984) was a British theoretical physicist and a founder of the field of quantum physics. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Sir James Lighthill born Michael James Lighthill, born 23 January 1924 in Paris died 17 July 1998, was a British applied mathematician. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Stephen William Hawking (born 8 January 1942) CH, CBE, FRS, is considered one of the worlds leading theoretical physicists. ...

Lucasian Professor in fiction

In "All Good Things...", the last episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the android Data holds the Lucasian Chair. This episode is set around the year 2395, when Q was transporting Captain Picard through time. As stated near the end of the episode, since Captain Picard told his crew all about his experiences in the future, there is no guarantee that they will unfold the same way. All Good Things. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... Data is a character in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... The 24th century (Gregorian Calendar) comprises the years 2301-2400. ...

See also

• List of Professorships at the University of Cambridge

This is a list of professorships at the University of Cambridge. ...

References

• Lucasian Chair of Mathematics website
• Kevin Knox and Richard Noakes, From Newton to Hawking: A History of Cambridge University's Lucasian Professors of Mathematics ISBN 0-521-66310-5