Person: Sang, Edward
Edward Sang was a Scottish mathematician who wrote extensively on mathematical, mechanical, optical and actuarial topics as well as publishing astronomical and logarithmic tables.
Mathematical Profile (Excerpt):
- Edward Sang Sr was a member of the Berean church, a small sect founded by John Barclay in 1773.
- At this school, Edward showed great abilities and completed his education there at the age of twelve.
- Nevertheless, Sang was a small lad for his age and must of looked a little out of place.
- Sang enrolled in John Leslie's second mathematics class and studied this during the academic year 1818-19.
- Sang's time at university was not straightforward since he had periods of illness, but he greatly impressed both Leslie and Wallace and they both wrote very strong reports on their outstanding pupil when he completed his university studies in 1824.
- He was a major influence on the education of both Edward and John Sang.
- Edward Sang first worked in Edinburgh as a surveyor, civil engineer and mathematics teacher and lectured on natural philosophy, as an assistant to John Leslie.
- Sang was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 2 May 1836 having been proposed by Thomas Dick Lauder (1784-1848).
- Sang applied for the chair, as did another local man John Scott Russell.
- Neither Sang nor John Russell were seriously considered for the chair, the two top contenders being Philip Kelland and Duncan Farquharson Gregory; Kelland was successful.
- Sang cancelled his fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 3 April 1840 (he was re-elected in 1849).
- During 1841-43 Sang was Professor of Mechanical Sciences at the nonconformist Manchester New College.
- It returned to Manchester in 1840, just before Sang was appointed, but moved to London in 1853 and has now become Marris Manchester College, Oxford.
- After two years in Manchester, Sang went to Constantinople to establish engineering schools, plan railways and an ironworks.
- Sang received an invitation from the Astronomer Royal to go to Russia to observe the solar eclipse of 28 July 1851.
- Edward Sang was appointed 'lecturer to the Faculty', and delivered four lectures the following year, the second of which was entitled 'The Commercial, Moral and Social Influences of Assurances - the Applicability of the Principle in Difference Circumstances'.
- There is no doubt that Sang's most remarkable achievement is his massive unpublished compilation of 26- and 15-place logarithmic, trigonometric and astronomical tables, filling 47 manuscript volumes.
- On 5 November 1868 Sang, as President, addressed the Actuarial Society of Edinburgh.
- There are a number of concepts that Sang anticipated.
- Tait made instant search among our files for the paper, had it read and printed - but poor Sang was dead.
- Sang died at his home, 31 Mayfield Road, Edinburgh and was buried in Newington Cemetery, Edinburgh.
Born 30 January 1805, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. Died 23 December 1890.
View full biography at MacTutor
Tags relevant for this person:
Astronomy, Origin Scotland
Thank you to the contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0! 
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References
Adapted from other CC BY-SA 4.0 Sources:
- O’Connor, John J; Robertson, Edmund F: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
