Humphry Ditton


Humphry Ditton was an English mathematician.

Life

Ditton was born at Salisbury. He studied theology, and was for some years a dissenting minister at Tonbridge, but on the death of his father he devoted himself to the congenial study of mathematics. Through the influence of Isaac Newton he was elected mathematical master in Christ's Hospital.

Works

He was author of the following memoirs and treatises:
In 1709 he published the Synopsis Algebraica of John Alexander, with additions and corrections. In his Treatise on Perspective he explained his mathematical principles; and anticipated the method afterwards elaborated by Brook Taylor.
In 1714 Ditton published his Discourse on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and The New Law of Fluids, or a Discourse concerning the Ascent of Liquids in exact Geometrical Figures, between two nearly contiguous Surfaces. To this was annexed a tract to demonstrate the impossibility of thinking or perception being the result of any combination of the parts of matter and motion.
Humphry Ditton and William Whiston wrote a book, called A new method for discovering the longitude both at sea and land, concerning a method for discovering the longitude, which it seems they had published about half a year earlier. Although the method had been approved by Newton before being presented to the Board of Longitude, and successfully practised in finding the longitude between Paris and Vienna, the board determined against it. Jonathan Swift wrote mockingly about this plan.
Ditton died in the following year, and was buried in Christ Church Greyfriars in central London.