William Rowan Hamilton

Sir William Rowan Hamilton MRIA (August 4, 1805 – September 2, 1865) is an Irish mathematician.

While still an undergraduate he is appointed Andrews professor of Astronomy and Royal Astronomer of Ireland, and lives at Dunsink Observatory.

He makes important contributions to optics, classical mechanics and algebra.

Although Hamilton is not a physicist–he regards himself as a pure mathematician–his work is of major importance to physics, particularly his reformulation of Newtonian mechanics, now called Hamiltonian mechanics.

This work has proven central to the modern study of classical field theories such as electromagnetism, and to the development of quantum mechanics.

In pure mathematics, he is best known as the inventor of quaternions.

Hamilton is said to have shown immense talent at a very early age.

Astronomer Bishop Dr. John Brinkley remarks of the eighteen-year-old Hamilton, 'This young man, I do not say will be, but is, the first mathematician of his age.'

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