Alfred George Greenhill
Sir (Alfred) George Greenhill, F.R.S. (1847-1927), was a British mathematician and professor at the Royal Artillery College at Woolwich.
1847 November 29th. Born in London the third son of Thomas Greenhill.
George Greenhill was educated at Christ's Hospital School and from there he went up to St John's College, Cambridge in 1866.
In 1876, Greenhill was appointed professor of mathematics at the Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, London, UK. He held this chair until his retirement in 1908.
1886 Wrote a series for The Engineer on Screw Propeller Efficiency;
- (No. I): The Engineer 1886/06/04.
- (No. II): The Engineer 1886/06/25.
- (No. III): The Engineer 1886/07/09.
- (No. IV): The Engineer 1886/09/17.
- (No. V): The Engineer 1886/10/15.
1888 Made a Fellow of the Royal Society, (07/06/1888). [1]
His 1892 textbook on applications of elliptic functions is of acknowledged excellence.
In 1879, Greenhill developed a rule of thumb for calculating the optimal twist rate for lead-core bullets. This short cut uses the bullet's length, needing no allowances for weight or nose shape. Greenhill applied this theory to account for the steadiness of flight conferred upon an elongated projectile by rifling.
1908 Received his knighthood
1927 February 10th. Died in London
1927 Obituary
'A great mathematician has been removed from our midst by the death of Sir George Greenhill, which took place at his brother's house in Penge on Thursday of last week. His death was really the outcome of an accident which he sustained when alighting from an omnibus just before Christmas, and from which he never really recovered.....'
For the full obituary detailing his many eccentricities, see The Engineer 1927/02/18 p 189