Clement John Tranter

Clement John Tranter, CBE (16 August 1909 – 27 October 1991) was a British mathematics professor, researcher and the author of several key academic textbooks.

Born in 1909 into a family of scientists, the son of Archibald Tranter, of Cirencester, Tranter was educated at Cirencester Grammar School and Queen's College, Oxford, where he was an open scholar and gained a First in Mathematics in 1931. He served as a captain in the Second World War, before returning to Oxford and gaining his DSc degree in 1953.^[1]

From 1953 to 1974, Tranter was Bashforth Professor of Mathematical Physics at the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham.^[1] His published works became popular in schools during the 1970s and were the standard textbooks used by A-level students for several years; they are still used in Far Eastern schools today.

He was made OBE in 1953 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1967.^[1]

He died of a sudden heart attack at his home in Highworth, close to Swindon, in 1991. He was survived by his wife Joan, who lived until December 2008.

Published works

• Advanced Level Pure Mathematics, 1953.
• Techniques of Mathematical Analysis, 1957.
• Integral Transforms in Mathematical Physics, 1959. (translated to Spanish)
• Differential Equations for Engineers and Scientists, 1961.
• Mathematics For Sixth Form Scientists, 1964.
• Bessel Functions with some Physical Applications, 1969.