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Louis Melville Milne-Thomson, who was born on 1891 May 1 and died on 1974 August 21, had a distinguished and remarkably long career in the field of applied mathematics. Although he relinquished his professorship in the University of Arizona in 1970 (he was thereafter Emeritus Professor) he was still able to accept invitations (the last of many) to serve as Visiting Professor in Calgary in 1970 and Otago in 1971.
After being a classical scholar at Clifton College he became a mathematics scholar at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he duly became a wrangler. An early attack of polio had left him with a withered arm and a limp, so he was unfit for military service. He thus became an assistant master at Winchester College in 1914 but, finding that teaching did not give full scope to his mathematical abilities, left to join the staff of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1921, first as lecturer but shortly afterwards as Professor of Mathematics; he held the post until his retirement in 1956. The emphasis was naturally on applied mathematics, and he had the opportunity and incentive to develop his interests in numerical mathematics and tables, in hydrodynamics and later in aerodynamics. It was in these latter fields that he made his most lasting contributions, particularly in the standard texts Theoretical Hydrodynamics (1938) and Theoretical Aerodynamics (1948) both of which had their fifth editions in 1968.
He became a Fellow of the Society on 1923 March 9, possibly because of his contacts with the Royal Observatory, but more probably because astronomy posed challenging problems. His interest in mathematical tables brought him into close collaboration with L.J.Comrie, then Deputy Superintendent of HM Nautical Almanac Office, which was housed at that time in the College; however, their joint Standard Four-Figure Mathematical Tables, which was, and still perhaps is, the best table of its kind, brought this to a sad end. Apart from some clash of personality, there was a fundamental difference of attitude towards numerical mathematics (as can be seen from their respective publica-tions) which made further collaboration impossible. Milne-Thomson went on to publish his Calculus of Finite Differences in 1933 (much criticized by Comrie) and he later published his Jacobian Elliptical Function Tables; in the days before even desk calculating machines were common, astronomy benefited much from such activities.
Although he never wrote an astronomical paper, Milne-Thomson's interest in astronomy and in the Society remained; and in 1952 he was elected Treasurer in succession to Sir Harold Spencer Jones. He brought to that office some financial expertise and it was largely due to him that the Society reconsidered its traditional investment policy, and started the switch from fixed-interest securities to equities, which (until the last year or so) proved so beneficial to the Society's finances. He remained Treasurer until 1956, when he first took up an overseas appointment. He served also on the Council from 1940 to 1944.
He is survived by his widow and three married daughters.
D.H.SADLER
After being a classical scholar at Clifton College he became a mathematics scholar at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he duly became a wrangler. An early attack of polio had left him with a withered arm and a limp, so he was unfit for military service. He thus became an assistant master at Winchester College in 1914 but, finding that teaching did not give full scope to his mathematical abilities, left to join the staff of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1921, first as lecturer but shortly afterwards as Professor of Mathematics; he held the post until his retirement in 1956. The emphasis was naturally on applied mathematics, and he had the opportunity and incentive to develop his interests in numerical mathematics and tables, in hydrodynamics and later in aerodynamics. It was in these latter fields that he made his most lasting contributions, particularly in the standard texts Theoretical Hydrodynamics (1938) and Theoretical Aerodynamics (1948) both of which had their fifth editions in 1968.
He became a Fellow of the Society on 1923 March 9, possibly because of his contacts with the Royal Observatory, but more probably because astronomy posed challenging problems. His interest in mathematical tables brought him into close collaboration with L.J.Comrie, then Deputy Superintendent of HM Nautical Almanac Office, which was housed at that time in the College; however, their joint Standard Four-Figure Mathematical Tables, which was, and still perhaps is, the best table of its kind, brought this to a sad end. Apart from some clash of personality, there was a fundamental difference of attitude towards numerical mathematics (as can be seen from their respective publica-tions) which made further collaboration impossible. Milne-Thomson went on to publish his Calculus of Finite Differences in 1933 (much criticized by Comrie) and he later published his Jacobian Elliptical Function Tables; in the days before even desk calculating machines were common, astronomy benefited much from such activities.
Although he never wrote an astronomical paper, Milne-Thomson's interest in astronomy and in the Society remained; and in 1952 he was elected Treasurer in succession to Sir Harold Spencer Jones. He brought to that office some financial expertise and it was largely due to him that the Society reconsidered its traditional investment policy, and started the switch from fixed-interest securities to equities, which (until the last year or so) proved so beneficial to the Society's finances. He remained Treasurer until 1956, when he first took up an overseas appointment. He served also on the Council from 1940 to 1944.
He is survived by his widow and three married daughters.
D.H.SADLER
Louis Melville Milne-Thomson's obituary appeared in Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 16:2 (1975), 218-219.