乔治·萨蒙George Salmon

乔治·萨蒙的父亲Michael Salmon是一名亚麻布商，母亲是海伦·威克斯，即爱德华·威克斯牧师的女儿。迈克尔和海伦萨蒙有四个孩子；萨蒙是他们唯一的儿子。萨蒙在家乡爱尔兰南部的科克就读于波特先生的学校，然后于1834年进入都柏林三一学院。他在三一学院学习数学和古典学，1837年获得古典学奖学金，1838年以数学最优等一等学位毕业。

当时，都柏林三一学院将其研究员职位和奖学金限制给圣公会教徒。此后一段时间，直到1873年，大学才取消了所有宗教要求。这对萨蒙来说不是问题，因为他是圣公会教徒，但为了接受三一学院于1841年提供给他的研究员职位，他被要求接受爱尔兰教会的神职任命，他确实这样做了，于1844年被任命为执事，1845年被任命为牧师。除了数学职位外，他还在1845年被任命为神学讲师。

1844年，萨蒙与弗朗西丝·安妮·萨尔瓦多结婚，她是J·L·萨尔瓦多牧师的女儿。他们有六个孩子，四男两女，但六个孩子中只有两个（最大的男孩和最小的女孩）比他活得长。1848年，他被任命为三一学院的多尼戈尔数学讲师。

当萨蒙于1841年加入都柏林三一学院时，数学系有一些杰出的数学家。威廉·哈密顿和詹姆斯·麦古拉在那里任职，Charles Graves和汉弗莱·劳埃德也在那里。尽管主要感兴趣的主题是综合几何，萨蒙只在这个领域工作了很短时间，然后转向代数几何领域。

萨蒙对阿瑟·凯莱、詹姆斯·约瑟夫·西尔维斯特、夏尔·埃尔米特以及后来阿尔弗雷德·克莱布什所采用的几何代数方法产生了兴趣。他与阿瑟·凯莱和詹姆斯·约瑟夫·西尔维斯特成为密友，并与阿瑟·凯莱一起发现了三次曲面上的27条直线。更准确地说，是阿瑟·凯莱发现了这些直线，但由萨蒙进行了枚举。他还在直纹面和其他曲面方面有许多发现，包括代数曲面的正规奇点这一概念。正如当时典型的情况那样，萨蒙的工作显示出对完全严密性的缺乏关注。

在6中，Gow引用了托马斯·阿彻·赫斯特、让-维克托·彭赛列以及萨蒙的同时代人和后继者中其他几位的许多有趣言论。其中许多评论对萨蒙的风格提出了令人惊讶的批评。他最为人所铭记的是他在1848年至1862年间撰写的四部教科书，这些书为英国数学注入了活力。McConnell在1中写道：-

这四部论著分别涉及圆锥曲线、高次平面曲线、现代高等代数和三维几何，不仅对各自领域进行了全面论述，而且表述清晰、风格优雅，堪称教科书的典范。它们被翻译成每一种西欧语言，并多次再版（每一版都纳入了最新发展）；许多年里，它们一直是各自学科的标准高等教科书。

这段引文中提到的著名四部教科书是A treatise on conic sections（1848）、A treatise on higher plane curves: Intended as a sequel to a treatise on conic sections（1852）、Lessons introductory to the modern higher algebra（1859）和A treatise on the analytic geometry of three dimensions（1862）。

萨蒙工作的一个特点是他喜欢进行冗长的计算。他计算了一条六次曲线的一个不变量，并将所得计算发表在1866年出版的其高等代数论著的第二版中，长达十三页。

萨蒙因其数学贡献获得了许多荣誉。他于1843年当选为爱尔兰皇家科学院会士，并于1858年获得该院的Cunningham奖章。他于1863年当选为皇家学会会士，并于1863年获得该学会的皇家奖章，1889年获得其Copley奖章。他还当选为法国研究院以及Berlin、 Göttingen、哥本哈根和罗马Accademia dei Lincei的院士。

我们已经注意到，萨蒙于1845年被任命为神学讲师，并从1848年起在担任数学讲师的同时也担任这一讲席。从1848年到1866年，他在数学系和神学系都发挥了重要作用。我们已在上文注意到他这一时期的数学贡献，但我们也应注意到他有重要的神学出版物。其中第一部是他于1849年出版的布道文Prayer，随后是一系列布道文出版物，例如许多收录在Sermons preached in Trinity College Chapel（1861）和Cathedral and University Sermons（1900）中。人们普遍认为他的布道文读起来比听起来更好，因为他的嗓音不够洪亮。他还发表了许多关于罗马天主教和圣公会之间分歧问题的文章。

1866年，萨蒙被任命为都柏林三一学院的神学钦定教授。此时他放弃了数学讲席，尽管他继续从事数学工作，但更多是为了自娱。他最后一次数学发表是在1873年，内容是关于素数倒数循环小数的周期。他在神学领域发表了大量著作，如The eternity of future punishment（1864）、The reign of law（1873）、Non-miraculous Christianity（1881）、Introduction to the New Testament（1885）、The infallibility of the Church（1888）、Thoughts on the textual criticism of the New Testament（1897），以及1877年至1887年间在Dictionary of Christian Biography上发表的一系列关于早期基督教会历史的文章。

你可以在THIS LINK看到一篇关于萨蒙神学的文章。

1871年，萨蒙被任命为圣帕特里克大教堂的牧师会会长，1888年又被任命为三一学院的院长。他担任这两个职位直到去世。在讣告中，2对萨蒙在这两个职位上的表现都有所评论。首先是作为院长：-

已故院长是一位性格极具力量的人，他对董事会的一些同事拥有一种可以恰当地称为支配性的影响。

然后是作为圣帕特里克大教堂的牧师会会长，2写道：-

大教堂有一个传统，即其议长应由一位博学之士担任。伟大的阿马大主教厄舍尔曾担任此职，而他们今天痛惜失去的这位议长，是厄舍尔时代以来爱尔兰最博学的神学家。

他在两个不同领域的专长也被提及[2]：-

都柏林人习惯称萨蒙博士为“伟人”，但可能并非所有人都意识到他实际上有多么伟大。在他因与爱尔兰教会事务的联系而在都柏林广受欢迎之前十年，他作为科学家的工作就已使他闻名全欧洲。他放下这些科学研究转而投身神学已有40年，此后20年，他作为神学家闻名欧洲。很难想起任何现代学者能在两个截然不同的研究领域中取得这样的声誉。

萨蒙被授予牛津（1868年）、剑桥（1874年）、爱丁堡（1884年）和克里斯蒂安尼亚大学（奥斯陆）（1902年）的荣誉学位。他是请愿为新成立的英国科学院颁发特许状的人之一，当爱德华七世于1902年授予特许状时，萨蒙是创始成员之一。

让我们引用J Ossory在Dictionary of National Biography:-中对萨蒙的性格和爱好的评论

好客而友善的萨蒙有许多朋友和兴趣。年轻时是一位称职的音乐家和具有非凡棋力的棋手，他培养这两种消遣直到高龄。他是一位博览群书的读者……并对老一辈小说家情有独钟……他习惯写给朋友的长信中那种朴实的活力和令人愉快的机智，使他堪称[19世纪]最好的书信作家之一。

最后让我们引用牛津主教 Stubbs 博士 [2] 的话：-

三一学院教务长是个非凡的人。在我们相识的第一天，我就被他亲切的礼貌所打动；第二天，被他的学识所打动；第三天，被他的幽默所打动；而每一天，都被他的谦逊所打动。

George Salmon's father, Michael Salmon, was a linen merchant while his mother was Helen Weekes, the daughter of the Reverend Edward Weekes. Michael and Helen Salmon has four children; George being their only son. George attended Mr Porter's school in his home town of Cork, in the south of Ireland, and then entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1834. He studied mathematics and classics at Trinity, winning a classics scholarship in 1837, and graduating with the best First Class degree in mathematics in 1838.

At this time Trinity College, Dublin, restricted its fellowships, and scholarships to Anglicans. It was some time after this, in 1873, that all religious requirements were removed from the university. This was not a problem for Salmon, who was an Anglican, but in order to take up the Fellowship that Trinity offered him in 1841 he was required to take holy orders in the Church of Ireland, which indeed he did, being ordained deacon in 1844 and a priest in 1845. In addition to his mathematics position, he was appointed to a divinity lectureship in 1845.

In 1844 Salmon married Frances Anne Salvador, the daughter of the Reverend J L Salvador. They had six children, four boys and two girls, but only two of these six children (the eldest boy and the youngest girl) survived him. In 1848 he was appointed as Donegall lecturer in mathematics at Trinity.

The mathematics department in Trinity College had some outstanding mathematicians on the staff when Salmon joined them in 1841. Hamilton and MacCullagh were on the staff there, as were Charles Graves and Humphrey Lloyd. Although the main topic of interest was synthetic geometry, Salmon only worked in this area for a short time before moving into the area of algebraic geometry.

Salmon became interested in the algebraic approach to geometry taken by Cayley, Sylvester, Hermite and later by Clebsch. He became a close friend of Cayley and Sylvester and discovered, together with Cayley, the 27 lines on the cubic surface. To be more accurate, Cayley discovered these but they were enumerated by Salmon. He also made many discoveries about ruled surfaces and other surfaces, including the idea of the normal singularities of an algebraic surface. As was typical of the time, Salmon's work showed a lack of concern with complete rigour.

In [6] Gow gives many interesting quotations by Hirst, Poncelet, and several others of Salmon's contemporaries and successors. Many of these comments are surprisingly critical of Salmon's style. He is best remembered for his four textbooks written between 1848 and 1862 which did much to breath life into British mathematics. McConnell writes in [1]:-

These four treatises on conic sections, higher plane curves, modern higher algebra, and the geometry of three dimensions not only gave a comprehensive treatment of their respective fields but also were written with a clarity of expression and an elegance of style that made them models of what a textbook should be. They were translated into every western European language and ran into many editions (each incorporating the latest developments); they remained for many years the standard advanced textbooks in their respective subjects.

The famous four textbooks referred to in this quote are A treatise on conic sections (1848), A treatise on higher plane curves: Intended as a sequel to a treatise on conic sections (1852), Lessons introductory to the modern higher algebra (1859), and A treatise on the analytic geometry of three dimensions (1862).

A characteristic of Salmon's work was his love of carrying out lengthy calculations. He calculated an invariant of a curve of degree six and published the resulting calculation, which ran to thirteen pages, in the second edition of his treatise on higher algebra which appeared in 1866.

Salmon received many honours for his mathematical contributions. Elected to the Royal Irish Academy in 1843 he received its Cunningham Medal in 1858. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1863 and awarded the Royal Medal of that Society in 1863 and its Copley Medal in 1889. He was also elected to the Institute of France and the academies of Berlin, Göttingen, Copenhagen, and the Accademia dei Lincei of Rome.

We have already noted that Salmon was appointed as a lecturer in divinity in 1845 and from 1848 he held this lectureship as well as being a lecturer in mathematics. From 1848 to 1866 he played a major role in both the departments of mathematics and divinity. We have noted his mathematical contributions over this period above, but we should also note that he had important theological publications. The first of these was his sermon Prayer published in 1849, which was followed by a series of publications of his sermons, for example many are collected in Sermons preached in Trinity College Chapel (1861) and Cathedral and University Sermons (1900). It was generally accepted that his sermons were better read than listened to, since he did not have a strong voice. He also published many articles on issues dividing the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.

In 1866 Salmon was appointed Regius Professor of Divinity at Trinity College, Dublin. At this time he gave up his mathematics lectureship, and although he continued to work at mathematics, it became more for his own amusement. His last mathematics publication was in 1873 on periods of the recurring decimals of the reciprocals of prime numbers. He published much in the area of theology with works such as The eternity of future punishment (1864), The reign of law (1873), Non-miraculous Christianity (1881), Introduction to the New Testament (1885), The infallibility of the Church (1888), Thoughts on the textual criticism of the New Testament (1897), and a series of articles between 1877 and 1887 on the history of the early Christian Church in the Dictionary of Christian Biography.

You can see an article about Salmon's theology at THIS LINK.

In 1871 Salmon was installed as Chancellor of St Patrick's Cathedral and in 1888 he was appointed Provost of Trinity College. He held both positions until his death. In the obituary [2] comments are made about Salmon in both these roles. First as Provost:-

The late Provost was a man of tremendous force of character, and over some of his colleagues on the Board he had an influence which may correctly be described as dominating.

Then as Chancellor of St Patrick's Cathedral [2]:-

It was a tradition of the Cathedral that its Chancellor should be a man of learning. The great Archbishop Ussher had held the office, and the Chancellor whose loss they deplored today was the most learned of Irish theologians since Ussher's time.

His expertise in two distinct fields is also mentioned [2]:-

The people of Dublin were in the habit of calling Dr Salmon "a great man", but possibly they did not all realise how great he actually was. Ten years before his connection with Irish Church affairs had made him popular in Dublin his work as a scientist had made him famous throughout Europe. It was 40 years since he had laid these scientific studies aside and had diverted himself to theology, and 20 years afterwards he was known through Europe as a theologian. It is difficult to recall the name of any modern scholar who had achieved such a reputation in two distinct branches of study.

Salmon was awarded honorary degrees at Oxford (1868), Cambridge (1874), Edinburgh (1884) and University of Christiana (Oslo) (1902). He was one of those who petitioned for a charter for the new British Academy, and when Edward VII granted a charter for it in 1902, Salmon was one of the founder members.

Let us quote J Ossory's comments about Salmon's character and hobbies in the Dictionary of National Biography:-

Hospitable and kindly, Salmon had many friends and interests. In youth a competent musician and a chess played of remarkable powers, he cultivated both recreations until an advanced age. He was an omnivorous reader ... and had a special affection for the older novelists ... The homely vigour and delightful wit of the long letters which he was accustomed to write to his friends entitle him to rank as one of the best letter writers of the [19th century].

Finally let us quote Dr Stubbs, the Bishop of Oxford [2]:-

The Provost of Trinity College is an extraordinary man. On the first day of our acquaintance I was struck with his gracious courtesy, on the second day with his learning, on the third day with his humour, and every day with his humility.