Senior Wrangler (University of Cambridge)
The Senior Wrangler is the student who achieves the highest overall mark among the Wranglers - those who gain first-class degrees in mathematics at Cambridge University in England. The examinations have long been fiercely competitive.
Senior Wranglers include John Herschel, Arthur Cayley, James Inman, George Stokes, Isaac Todhunter, Morris Pell, Lord Rayleigh, Arthur Eddington, J. E. Littlewood, Frank Ramsey, Donald Coxeter, Jacob Bronowski and Ben Green.
In the past, Senior Wranglers were fêted with torchlit processions and took pride of place in the University's graduation ceremony.[1] David Forfar describes how becoming Senior Wrangler was regarded as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain", and how "years in Cambridge were often remembered in terms of who had been Senior Wrangler in that year."[2]
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[edit] Others who finished in the top 12
The difficulty of the examinations is illustrated by the identities of some of those who have performed well, but less well than the Senior Wrangler.
Those who have achieved second place, known as Second Wranglers, include Alfred Marshall, James Clerk Maxwell, J. J. Thomson, and Lord Kelvin.
Those who have finished between third and 12th include Karl Pearson and William Henry Bragg (third), George Green and G. H. Hardy (fourth), Adam Sedgwick (fifth), John Venn (sixth), Bertrand Russell and Nevil Maskelyne (seventh), Thomas Malthus (ninth), and John Maynard Keynes (12th).
[edit] History
Between 1748 and 1909, the University publicly announced the ranking,[3] which was then reported in newspapers such as The Times. The examination was considered to be the most important in England, and the prestige associated with the position of Senior Wrangler was immense. Andrew Warwick, author of Masters of Theory, describes the term 'Senior Wrangler' as "synonymous with academic supremacy".
Since 1910, successful students in the University's famously difficult Mathematical Tripos examinations have been told their rankings privately, and not all Senior Wranglers have become publicly known as such. The publicity associated with the position of Senior Wrangler has consequently diminished. But the examiner who reads out the results in Cambridge University's Senate House still identifies the Senior Wrangler, by tipping his hat when he reads out the person's name.
The youngest Senior Wrangler up to 1909 was Peter Guthrie Tait, who came top in 1852, aged 20 years and 8 months.[4] The overall youngest may have been James Wilkinson, who was the Senior Wrangler in 1939, aged 19 years and 9 months.[5]
Two individuals have placed first without becoming known as Senior Wrangler. One was the student Philippa Fawcett in 1890. At that time, although the University allowed women to take the examinations, it did not allow them to be members of the University nor to receive degrees. Therefore they could not be known as 'Wranglers', and were merely told how they had performed compared to the male candidates, for example, "equal to the Third Wrangler", or "between the Seventh and Eighth Wranglers". Having gained the highest mark, Fawcett was declared to have finished "above the Senior Wrangler".
The other was the mathematics professor George Pólya. Having contributed to reforming the Tripos with the aim that an excellent performance would be less dependent on solving hard problems and more so on showing a broader mathematical understanding and knowledge, G H Hardy asked Polya to sit the examinations himself, unofficially, during his stay in England in 1924-25. Pólya did so, and to Hardy's surprise, received the highest mark, an achievement which, had he been a student, would have made him the Senior Wrangler.[6]
[edit] Derived uses of the term
Senior Wrangler's Walk is a path in Cambridge, the walk to and along which was considered to be sufficient constitutional exercise for a student aspiring to become the Senior Wrangler. The route was shorter than other walks, such as Wranglers' Walk and the Grantchester Grind, undertaken by undergraduates whose aspirations were lower.[7]
Senior Wrangler sauce is a Cambridge term for brandy butter, a type of hard sauce made from brandy, butter, and sugar, traditionally served in Britain with Christmas pudding and warm mince pies.[8]
[edit] Literary references
Fictional Senior Wranglers appearing in novels include Roger Hamley, a character in Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters, and Tom Jericho, the cryptanalyst in Thomas Harris's novel Enigma, who is described as having been Senior Wrangler in 1938.
In his Discworld series of novels, Terry Pratchett has a character called 'The Senior Wrangler' who is a member of the faculty of the Unseen University.
[edit] Coaches
The two most successful 19th-century coaches of Senior Wranglers were William Hopkins and Edward Routh. Hopkins, the 'Senior Wrangler Maker', who himself was the 7th Wrangler, coached 17 Senior Wranglers. Routh, who had himself been the Senior Wrangler, coached 27.[9]
[edit] Senior Wranglers and Second Wranglers, 1748–1909
During 1748–1909, the top two colleges in terms of number of Senior Wranglers were Trinity and St John's with 56 and 54 respectively.
[edit] Senior Wranglers since 1910
| Year | Senior Wrangler | College |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | Frank Ramsey[26] | Trinity |
| 1928 | Donald Coxeter[27] | Trinity |
| 1930 | Jacob Bronowski[28] | Jesus |
| 1939 | James Wilkinson[29] | Trinity |
| 1940 | Hermann Bondi[30] | Trinity |
| 1953 | Crispin Nash-Williams[31] | Trinity Hall |
| 1959 | Jayant Narlikar[32] | (non-collegiate) |
| 1978 | Glyn Moody[33] | Trinity |
| 1982 | Christopher Budd[34] | St John's |
| 1985 | Nick Mee[35] | Trinity |
| 1990 | Kevin Buzzard[36] | Trinity |
| 1996 | David W. Essex[37] | Trinity |
| 1997 | Alexander G. Barnard[citation needed] | Trinity |
| 1998 | Ben J. Green[38] | Trinity |
| 1999 | Paul Russell[citation needed] | Peterhouse |
| 2000 | Toby Gee[39] | Trinity |
| 2001 | Mohan Ganesalingam[40] | Trinity |
| 2003 | Thomas Barnet-Lamb[41] | Trinity |
| 2004 | David Loeffler[42] | Trinity |
| 2005 | Timothy Austin[43] | Trinity |
| 2007 | Paul Jefferys | Trinity |
| 2008 | Viet Bao. Le Hung[citation needed] | Trinity |
| 2009 | Thomas Beck[44] | Trinity Hall |
| 2010 | Z.H. Liu[citation needed] | Trinity |
| 2011 | Sean Eberhard[45][46] | Gonville and Caius |
Senior Wranglers since 1910 also include:
- David Hobson[47] (Christ's College) (1940s)
- Peter Swinnerton-Dyer[48] (Trinity College) (1940s)
- Michael Hall[49] (Trinity College) (1950s)
- Simon Norton[50] (Trinity College) (1970s)
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Moore, Gregory (2005). "Masters of Theory and its Relevance to the History of Economic Thought". History of Economics Review 42 (2): 77–99.
- ^ Forfar, David (1996). "What became of the Senior Wranglers?". Mathematical Spectrum 29 (1).
- ^ Craik, A.D.D. (2007). Mr Hopkins' Men. Springer London. doi:10.1007/978-1-84628-791-6. ISBN 978-1-84628-790-9.
- ^ Crilly, Tony (2006). Arthur Cayley: mathematician laureate of the Victorian age. John Hopkins University Press. p. 160. ISBN 0801880114.
- ^ Wilkinson, James H. Hammarling, Sven (2003). Encyclopedia of Computer Science. Springer London. ISBN 0-470-86412-5.
- ^ Alexanderson, Gerald L. (2000). The random walks of George Pólya. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 68.
- ^ Shapin, Stephen; Lawrence, Christopher, eds. (1998). Science incarnate: historical embodiments of natural knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 303. ISBN 0226470148.
- ^ "Brandy butter". http://www.az-encyclopedia.info/b/511431_Brandy_butter/. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
- ^ Davis, Ted; Stuerwer, Roger; Aris, Rutherford (ed.) (1983-05). Springs of Scientific Creativity: Essays on Founders of Modern Science. University of Minnesota Press. p. 164.
- ^ * Neale, Charles Montague (1907). The senior wranglers of the University of Cambridge, from 1748 to 1907. With biographical, & c., notes. Bury St. Edmunds: Groom and Son. http://www.archive.org/details/senoirwranglerso00nealrich. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
- ^ In years where there was a tie, both people tied have been shown as Senior Wrangler, with the next placed individual as Second Wrangler.
- ^ Thomas Jones, the Senior Wrangler that year, acted as his tutor.
- ^ William Albin Garratt is a possibility, if '22nd wrangler' is a misprint for '2nd wrangler' in Venn. Venn, J.; Venn, J. A., eds. (1922–1958). "Garratt, William Albin". Alumni Cantabrigienses (10 vols) (online ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Classical Tripos established.
- ^ Founded Hymers College.
- ^ Also senior classic.
- ^ According to legend, Kelvin was so confident he had come top that he asked his servant to run to the Senate House and check who the Second Wrangler was. The servant returned and told him, "You, sir"! Kelvin was reportedly beaten largely on the basis of Parkinson's superior exam technique. The result was reversed in the Smith Prize.
- ^ Routh found more fame subsequently as a coach of other Senior Wranglers. Indeed for twenty-two consecutive years from 1862, one of his pupils was Senior Wrangler, and he coached twenty-seven in all. His first pupil in 1856 was Third Wrangler, and in 1858 both the Senior and Second Wrangler were coached by him. O'Connor, J. J.; Robertson, E. F. (October 2003). "Routh biography". http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Routh.html. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ First Jewish Senior Wrangler. A special grace was passed to allow him to be graduated using a special form of the wording in order to not offend his religious beliefs.
- ^ Forsyth was one of the men who were principally responsible for the reform of the Tripos system that led to the end of the Tripos ranking.
- ^ An account exists of the 1882 graduation ceremony. "University Intelligence". The Times. 30 January 1882. http://www.casebook.org/press_reports/times/18820130.html. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ Regulations were changed to split the class list into Parts I & II, and Part III. The examinations for the former were held in June and retained the ordered class list (in contrast to Part III), so two sets of results exist for this year.
- ^ Actually placed second to Philippa Fawcett.
- ^ First Indian Senior Wrangler.
- ^ Eddington was the first person to be Senior Wrangler after only two years of study. Hutchinson, Ian H. (December 2002). "Astrophysics and Mysticism: the life of Arthur Stanley Eddington". http://silas.psfc.mit.edu/eddington/. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ Duarte, Pedro (2009). "Frank P. Ramsey: A Cambridge Economist". History of Political Economy 41 (3): 445–470.
- ^ "Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society". Royal Society. http://rsbm.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/52/45.full.pdf. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ^ Bronowski's biography at the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive: "Jacob Bronowski". University of St Andrews. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Bronowski.html. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ Wilkinson's biography at the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive: "James Hardy Wilkinson". University of St Andrews. http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Wilkinson.html. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
- ^ "Oral History Transcript — Dr. Hermann Bondi". American Institute of Physics. http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/4519.html. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
- ^ Nash-Williams's biography at the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive: "Crispin St John Alvah Nash-Williams". University of St Andrews. http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Nash-Williams.html. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ Mitton, Simon (2005). Fred Hoyle: A Life in Science. Aurum. pp. 275. ISBN 978-1854109613.
- ^ "Seven things people didn't know about me". http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2009/01/seven-things-people-didnt-know-about-me.html. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ "Chris Budd". http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Budd/133354953370924. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ "Whirlpool numbers". Plus Magazine. http://plus.maths.org/content/whirlpool-numbers. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ "Whirlpool numbers". Plus Magazine. http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showpost.php?p=35040777&postcount=11. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
- ^ "The Cambridge IA Mathematical Tripos". http://chessadist.blogspot.com/2010/06/cambridge-ia-mathematical-tripos.html. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ "Mathematical biography of Ben Green". Clay Mathematics Institute. http://www.claymath.org/fas/research_fellows/Green/bio.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ "Toby Gee". Northwestern University. http://www.math.northwestern.edu/~gee/Index_files/cv.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ "The Next Generation of Proof Assistants". Radboud University Nijmegen. http://www.cs.ru.nl/~freek/talks/lsfa.pdf. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
- ^ [www.imo-register.org.uk/2005-report.tex "The 46th International Mathematical Olympiad in Mexico"]. www.imo-register.org.uk/2005-report.tex. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
- ^ "David Loeffler". University of Warwick. http://www.warwick.ac.uk/~masiao/cv.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ "Getting a First...". http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=136118&page=3. Retrieved 2011-02-013.
- ^ "Trinity Hall rises to 7th in the Baxter tables". Trinity Hall. http://www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/alumni/news/detail.asp?ItemID=1179. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ "Mathematical Tripos, Part II, 2011". https://raven.cam.ac.uk/auth/authenticate.html?ver=1&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.srcf.ucam.org%2f~adw54%2fCCL2011%2fMaths_II_1.jpg&date=20110624T135208Z. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
- ^ "Sean Eberhard ’08 Reaches Pinnacle at Cambridge". http://www.bishopodowd.org/admin/?p=2337. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
- ^ "David Hobson: senior partner of Coopers & Lybrand (obituary)". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6200849.ece. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ "Sir Peter is Unhorsed". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1080327/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
- ^ "F M Hall (1935-2005) (obituary)". Shrewsbury School. http://www.shrewsbury.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=features.content&cmid=254. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ^ Masters, Alexander (2011). Simon: The Genius in my Basement. Harper Collins. ISBN 9780007445264.
[edit] References
- Galton, Francis (2000). "Classification of Men According to their Natural Gifts". In James Roy Newman. The World of Mathematics. 2. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0486411508. http://books.google.com/?id=se5iE4DMPioC.
- ed. H.C.G Matthew and Brian Harrison, ed. (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. http://www.oxforddnb.com.
- Tanner, Joseph Robson (1917) (PDF). The historical register of the University of Cambridge, being a supplement to the Calendar with a record of University offices, honours and distinctions to the year 1910. Cambridge University Press. http://ia350630.us.archive.org/3/items/1910historicalreg00univuoft/1910historicalreg00univuoft_bw.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- Venn, John (1922–27). Alumni Cantabrigienses. Cambridge University Press.
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