Margaret Millington
Margaret Millington | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 March 1944 |
| Died | 5 March 1973 (aged 28) |
| Occupation | Mathematician |
Margaret Hilary Millington (22 March 1944 – 5 March 1973) was an English-born mathematician.[1]
She was born Margaret Hilary Ashworth in Halifax, Yorkshire, the daughter of the local assistant head postmaster, and was educated there. She continued her studies at St Mary's College, Durham[2] and went on to Oxford University, where she earned a PhD in 1968 with A. O. L. Atkin as her advisor.[3] Also, in 1968, she married Lieutenant A.H. Millington,[2] who was part of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.[1] She was awarded a two-year Science Research Council Fellowship which allowed her to pursue research at any university. During her husband's two-year posting in Germany, she taught mathematics at an Army Education Centre there.[1]
She died in Germany due to a brain tumour at the age of 28.[2]
Although her career was cut short, in 1983, the London Mathematical Society organized a symposium on modular forms. During the symposium, the importance of her doctoral thesis and post-doctoral research became clear. The work that she had started during her fellowship was picked up and pursued by other mathematicians, leading to a resurgence in the field.[1] Her research had dealt with modular forms, as well as subgroups of the modular group.[1]
In a tribute to Millington, Atkin said "I have no doubt that, had she lived, she would have made exciting original contributions to a field which has at last come into its own again, after nearly a quarter century in the doldrums, and where there are now at least twenty first rate people of her generation working actively."[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F. (February 2010). "Margaret Hilary Ashworth Millington". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland.
- ^ a b c Atkin, A. O. L. (September 1985). "Obituary: Margaret Hilary Millington (née Ashworth)". Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society. 17 (5). London Mathematical Society: 484–486. doi:10.1112/blms/17.5.484.
- ^ Margaret Millington at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
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