Samuel Earnshaw
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Samuel Earnshaw (1 February 1805, Sheffield, Yorkshire ā 6 December 1888, Sheffield, Yorkshire[1]) was an English clergyman and mathematician and physicist, noted for his contributions to theoretical physics, especially "Earnshaw's theorem".
Samuel Earnshaw | |
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Born | (1805-02-01)1 February 1805 |
Died | 6 December 1888(1888-12-06) (aged 83) Sheffield, Yorkshire, England |
Known for | Earnshaw's theorem |
Earnshaw was born in Sheffield and entered St John's College, Cambridge, graduating Senior Wrangler and Smith's Prizeman in 1831.[2]
From 1831 to 1847 Earnshaw worked in Cambridge as tripos coach, and in 1846 was appointed to the parish church St. Michael, Cambridge. For a time he acted as curate to the Revd Charles Simeon. In 1847 his health broke down and he returned to Sheffield working as a chaplain and teacher.
Earnshaw published several mathematical and physical articles and books. His most famous contribution, "Earnshaw's theorem", shows the impossibility of stable levitating permanent magnets: other topics included optics, waves, dynamics and acoustics in physics, calculus, trigonometry and partial differential equations in mathematics. As a clergyman, he published several sermons and treatises.