[BITList] More on - Oriental Jones and the pie

[John Feltham]

 From another List......

Hello,

I am wondering if the horrendous maths involved in converting all the
different weights and measures involved in East India Company and  
especially
private trade did not bring forth particularly strong maths ability.

John De Morgan who was at Cuddalore from about 172 to 1746 is a common
ancestor of Augustus De Morgan, one of the great mathematicians of the  
19th
century and a founder professor at University College London.Augustus  
was
chooled in Cuddaore and Madras.

I believe but I am not 100% sure that he is also an ancestor of Alan  
Turing
the computer maths scientist.

Certainly one of John De Morgan's daughters married the son of the  
garrison
doctor who was a Turing.

Benjamin Robbins who was a 18th century fortification expert,  
mathematician
and expert of Fluxions and impacts was out there at this time,  
although I
have no proof he educated eithier Augustus De Morgan or Turing senior.
Of course Dr Bell's education system started in Chennai, and there were
schools in Cuddalore garrison very early, perhaps by 1710.

It is quite possible that schooling and technical maths was years  
ahead for
European children brought up in this community.

Navigation, artillery, angles & bearings, casting up accounts and  
fractions
were key to the future careers of many of these children, and I expect  
their
fathers were acutely aware of this.



ooroo

Bad typists of the word, untie.