John Muller (1699 – June 1784) was a mathematician and engineer from the Holy Roman Empire.[1]
Life
editBorn Johann Müller in the Holy Roman Empire, he moved to London in 1736.
In 1741 he was appointed deputy head of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, where he performed all the teaching duties of Martin Folkes.[2] He transformed the institution into a disciplined cadet academy with the help of Thomas Simpson.[3] In 1754 he became first master of the Academy, after Folkes's death.[2] He was later appointed Professor of Artillery and Fortification (and "Preceptor of Engineering, etc. to his Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester"); he retired in 1766. During his time at the Academy Muller carried out gunnery experiments with Colonel Desaguliers, described in the second edition of A Treatise of Artillery.[4]
Muller married Mary Horn on 29 December 1774, at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster. He died at his home in Eaton Street (now Greet Street), London in June 1784.[5] The contents of his library were auctioned at the Military Library, Whitehall early in 1785.[6]
Muller’s works were concerned with mathematics and fortification. At the Academy there were strict instructions on which topics each instructor was to teach,[7] which included a list of works to be used; several of Muller's books were his included.
Works
edit- A Mathematical Treatise: Containing a System of Conic-sections; with the doctrine of fluxions and fluents, applied to various subjects (1736)[8]
- A Treatise Containing the Elementary Part of Fortification (1746)[9]
- Elements of Mathematics (1748, also titled A System of Mathematics)
- A Treatise Containing the Practical Part of Fortification (1755)[10]
- A Treatise on Artillery (1757; later editions were titled A Treatise of Artillery)
- The Field Engineer; translated from the French (1759)
- Traité analytique des sections coniques, fluxions et fluentes. Avec un essai sur les quadratures, et un traité du mouvement (1760)[11]
- A New System of Mathematics (1769)
- New Elements of Mathematics: or, Euclid corrected (1773)[12]
References
edit- ^ "Muller, John (1699 - 1784) in CERL Thesaurus".
- ^ a b Walton, Steven A. "Muller, John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19514. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Guicciardini, Niccol- (13 November 2003). The Development of Newtonian Calculus in Britain, 1700-1800 by Niccolò Guicciardini. ISBN 9780521524841.
- ^ Muller, John (1768). A Treatise of Artillery (second ed.). London: John Muller.
- ^ "Died", General Evening Post, London, 26–29 June 1784
- ^ "This day is published a catalogue of books...", Morning Post and Daily Advertiser, London, 22 January 1785
- ^ Royal Military Academy, Woolwich (1776). Rules and Orders for the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich (Second ed.). London. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ Muller, John (1736). A Mathematical Treatise: Containing a System of Conic-sections; with the doctrine of fluxions and fluents, applied to various subjects. London: John Muller. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ Muller, John (1736). A Treatise Containing the Elementary Part of Fortification. London: John Muller.
- ^ Muller, John (1755). A Treatise Containing the Practical Part of Fortification. London: The Royal Academy of Artillery. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ Muller, John (1760). Traité analytique des sections coniques, fluxions et fluentes. Avec un essai sur les quadratures, et un traité du mouvement. London: The Royal Academy of Artillery. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ Muller, John (1773). New Elements of Mathematics: or, Euclid corrected (Second ed.). London: John Muller. Retrieved 3 June 2019.