William Hopkins Biography

William Hopkins was a renowned mathematician and geologist from Britain who penned the book ‘Elements of Trigonometry’. Born to an agricultural household, Hopkins was expected to fall in line with the family business. But as destiny would have it, he sold his patch of farmland and used the money to start anew. Having dropped out of school, as his family did not value education, William decided to pursue further studies from the reputed ‘Cambridge University’. Despite his restricted formal education, he was among one of the top ten scorers in the Mathematical Tripos examination. Unable to obtain a fellowship, this brilliant student started out as a tutor for aspirants of ‘Senior Wrangler’, the highest achievement attainable by a mathematics undergraduate. He achieved immense success in his endeavour and was even hailed as ‘senior wrangler maker’. Later he pursued study of mathematics and displaying his prowess in the subject he came out with a highly sought after publication on trigonometry. His association with Adam Sedgwick, whom he accompanied on several expeditions, led to a life-long study of geology. Hopkins set about studying the occurrence of faults and fissures on the Earth’s surface, and then explored the rotation of earth. His investigations were praised by the Geological Society of London and eventually he went on to become the President of the committee. Read on to know more about his life and works.