In the history of mathematics, Micaiah John Muller Hill is one of the names that keeps returning.
The record lists Micaiah John Muller Hill as British mathematician.
Micaiah John Muller Hill was born at Brahmapur in 1856. His recorded nationality is United Kingdom. He studied at Peterhouse and University College London.
The nineteenth century made mathematics rigorous: definitions were tightened, foundations questioned, and whole fields created from scratch.
His academic posts were held at University College London, Mason Science College and University College London.
Among his principal contributions are Hill's spherical vortex and Hill tetrahedron. Mathematical work is judged by whether anyone can build on it, and that judgement takes decades.
Recognition followed: Fellow of the Royal Society (1894) and Smith's Prize (1879).
That the work was done from United Kingdom matters: mathematical training, institutions and the language of publication have never been evenly distributed.
Micaiah John Muller Hill died in 1929, aged 73. The proofs remain, and a proof does not decay - which is the particular permanence mathematics offers.
Achievements
- Fellow of the Royal Society — 1894
- Smith's Prize — 1879
- Notable work: Hill's spherical vortex
- Notable work: Hill tetrahedron
- Held posts at University College London, Mason Science College and University College London
