John WallisBorn 3 Dec 1616; died 8 Nov 1703 at age 86. British mathematician who introduced the infinity math symbol. Wallis was skilled in cryptography and decoded Royalist messages for the Parliamentarians during the Civil War. Subsequently, he was appointed to the Savilian Chair of geometry at Oxford in 1649, a position he held until his death more than 50 years later. Wallis was part of a group interested in natural and experimental science which became the Royal Society, so Wallis is a founder member of the Royal Society and one of its first Fellows. Wallis contributed substantially to the origins of calculus and was the most influential English mathematician before Newton.[DSB gives dates 3 Dec 1616 - 8 Nov 1703. EB gives 23 Nov 1616 - 28 Oct 1703.] |
