Colin Maclaurin
Colin Maclaurin FRS | |
|---|---|
Drawing by David Steuart Erskine c. 1795, from a portrait by James Ferguson | |
| Born | February 1698 Kilmodan, Cowal, Argyll, Scotland |
| Died | 14 June 1746 (aged 48) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Citizenship | Great Britain |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Known for | Euler–Maclaurin formula Maclaurin's inequality Maclaurin series Maclaurin spheroid Maclaurin–Cauchy test Braikenridge–Maclaurin theorem Trisectrix of Maclaurin |
| Spouse |
Anne Stewart (m. 1733) |
| Children | 7, including John Maclaurin, Lord Dreghorn |
| Awards | Grand Prize of the French Academy of Sciences |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematician |
| Institutions | Marischal College, University of Aberdeen University of Edinburgh |
Academic advisors | Robert Simson |
Notable students | Robert Adam |
Colin Maclaurin (/məˈklɔːrən/; Scottish Gaelic: Cailean MacLabhruinn; February 1698 – 14 June 1746) was a Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. He is also known for being a child prodigy and holding the record for being the youngest professor. The Maclaurin series, a special case of the Taylor series, is named after him.
Owing to changes in orthography since that time (his name was originally rendered as M'Laurine), his surname is alternatively written MacLaurin.