Two papers on combinatorics published in the Cambridge and Dublin Mathematical Journal represent the entirety of the academic mathematical output produced by Robert Richard Anstice. Released during his final year of life, this research introduced the application of primitive roots to the field, establishing a mathematical foundation that preceded subsequent developments regarding Steiner's triplets by Eugen Netto.
Education and Early Life
Born in Madeley in 1813, Anstice received his formative schooling at the Westminster School. He later matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, completing his undergraduate degree in 1835. He remained at the institution to earn his Master's degree in 1837. Following his departure from Oxford, a period of ten years passed for which no biographical records concerning his professional or private activities currently exist.
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Anstice transitioned into the clergy during the mid-1840s. He received his ordination as a priest in 1846 and entered the service of the Church of England. In 1847, he accepted the position of rector in Wigginton, Hertfordshire. He maintained this role until his death in 1853 at the age of forty. His remains are interred beneath a cast iron tombstone situated in the churchyard of St Michael's Church in Madeley, Shropshire.
Mathematical Contributions
The focus of Anstice's mathematical inquiry resided within the domain of combinatorics. His methodology, specifically his pioneering utilization of primitive roots, demonstrated an early grasp of structural logic that influenced later historians of mathematics. His work remains a point of academic interest due to the intersection of his short-lived professional career as a parson and his formal publications in the Cambridge and Dublin Mathematical Journal.
Fast facts
- Born: 1813, Madeley
- Died: 1853, Wigginton
- Primary Occupation: Mathematician and Cleric
- Education: Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford
- Ordained Priest: 1846
- Burial Site: St Michael's Church, Madeley
- Field of Study: Combinatorics
Questions readers ask
What significant contribution did Anstice make to mathematics?
He authored two papers on combinatorics that utilized primitive roots, which anticipated later research on Steiner's triplets.
Where did he serve as a clergyman?
Anstice served as the rector of Wigginton, Hertfordshire, from 1847 until his death in 1853.
Achievements
- Held posts at Church of England
- Fields: combinatorics
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