James Joseph Sylvester
by Jesse Uriegas
Birth and Death
Birth: Born Sat. September 3rd, 1814 in London, England.
Death: Died Mon. March 15th, 1897 at age 83.
Intresting Facts:
-He was never married.
-His first trip to America was in 1842 in New York.
-During his first trip to America, he met someone he wanted to marrie, but she wouldn't marrie him because of his Jewish religion.
What James Joseph Sylvester was Famous for in Math
He was mainly famous for being the cofounder of invariant theory, the study of proporties that are unchanged under some transformation, like rotating or translating the coordinate axes.
Here Are Some Highlights of Sylvester's Life:
•In 1837, Sylvester got 2nd place in mathematical tripos at University of Cambridge.
•In 1838, he became a professor of natural philosophy at University College, London.
•He wrote hundreds of papers and one book: Treatise on Eliptic Functions (1876).
Just for extra vocabulary, tripos means "Final honors exam towards a BA degree."
Education
James Joseph Sylvester attended 2 schools:
1.) Some boarding school which he attended until 1827
2.) Some school in Islington
He attended University College, London in 1828 at age 17, but, on his 5th month there, he was accused of threatening another student with a knife.