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The Savilian Chairs owe their establishment to the generosity of Sir Henry Savile (1549–1622).

The son of a learned Yorkshire landowner, he matriculated at Brasenose ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ in 1561, aged just twelve. Only four years later, he became a fellow of Merton ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ, with several different research areas. In his lifetime, he was particularly well-known for editing the works of the Early Church Father John Chrysostom and for translating the works of Tacitus.

Savile’s real passion, though, was in mathematics. When he died in 1622, he had no male heir so directed his considerable wealth to establish two chairs after his death, dedicated to the study of both geometry and astronomy. Right from the start, the two chairs combined both tradition and modernity. Although they were set up to mainly focus on the ancient Greek authorities—Euclid, Apollonius and Archimedes for geometry, and the works of Ptolemy for astronomy—they also reflected up to date developments. Savile's very detailed statutes, for example, recommended the work of the revolutionary astronomer Copernicus alongside Ptolemy and stipulated that some teaching would be completed in the English language.

Savile also had foresight, appointing the first two incumbents personally. Henry Briggs (1561–1630) became the first Professor of Geometry and John Bainbridge (1582–1643) the first Professor of Astronomy. Briggs came to Oxford from Gresham ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ in London, where he had worked in the same field. Today, he is best known for his work on the development of logarithms, though he also had a keen interest in astronomy, reading the latest research by his contemporary Johannes Kepler (1571–1630). In terms of publication, Briggs’s greatest work has to be a parallel of the first six books of Euclid, still held by ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Library today and pictured on the right. 

His contemporary Bainbridge helped to build bridges between Eastern and Western astronomy throughout his tenure. Interested in the study of oriental languages (particularly Egyptian, Persian, and Arabic), he aimed to use his knowledge of these languages to understand Eastern astronomy—in some areas much more advanced than contemporary Western astronomy. In his lifetime, Bainbridge produced an acclaimed of Ptolemy’s hypotheses of the planets, again still held by ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Library today.

Bainbridge’s work was built on by the next significant holder of the post, John Greaves (1602–1652), who is arguably one of the most well-travelled Savilian Chairs in history. In 1637, Greaves went on a tour of the Levant, in the company of Edward Pococke (1604–1691), the first Laudian Professor of Arabic at Oxford. On the journey, he took many astronomical, geographical, metrological, and even magnetic readings. Like Bainbridge, his publications were connected with his researches into oriental astronomy. Particular highlights include the first published in England and a work on the Great Pyramid of Giza, with the intriguing title .

In terms of pure teaching, the most popular Savilian professor of anatomy has to be Seth Ward (1617–1689)—who had been allocated the position after the previous incumbent was sacked following the English Civil War. Ward did not take much of an interest in editing the texts of antiquity, like his predecessors. Instead, he preferred to write modern textbooks. His lecture series were extremely popular, helping to introduce Johannes Kepler's most recent discoveries to an English audience and attracting famous scientists of the day, such as the physicist and astronomer Robert Hooke (1635–1703).

Ward's contemporary in the Geometry post was the very interesting John Wallis (1616–1703). Pictured on the right, he had originally studied at Emmanuel ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ, Cambridge, before being ordained as a Church of England priest. When the English Civil War commenced in 1642, he began work for Oliver Cromwell’s intelligence service, deciphering secret codes. In 1649, the year the Commonwealth of England was established, he became Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford, a post he would hold for fifty years until his death. He delivered his inaugural lecture on 31 October on 31 October 1649 in the Geometry Lecture Room, now part of the Bodleian Library. If politics had accounted for his appointment, nevertheless he would go on to become the most significant English mathematician before Isaac Newton. In Oxford, during the 1650s, he was at the centre of probably Europe’s most compelling scientific community—his meetings with experimental philosophers in Oxford coffee houses and at Wadham ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ were the precursors to the foundation on 28 November 1660 of the Royal Society in London, in which he was very active. His major publications included (1655), a work in which he coined the mathematical term 'interpolation’ and (1656), in which he introduced the infinity symbol.

In the decades after the English Civil War, the most famous holder of either chair has to be Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723), who was elected in 1661. Although he spent much of his tenure at work in London after the Great Fire, many of his astronomical activities took their origin from his time in Oxford. Such work included close observation of Saturn and the construction of a lunar globe. Constructed at royal request, it sadly has not survived to the present day. To the left, though, you can see the only depiction of it, in the bottom right of his famous portrait now hanging in the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford.

Wren’s most lasting contribution was to the future of the Savilian chairs. He not only donated a mass of books to the Savilian library, but also 'a large brass quadrant placed in a standing frame, with a radius of about 26 inches, and furnished with two telescopic sights’. Such books and equipment could be well-utilised by his successors into the eighteenth century and beyond.

The eighteenth century saw the election of another famous name to a Savilian Professorship—Edmund Halley (1656–1742). Although he left Queen's ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ in 1676 without a degree, he was elected Professor of Geometry in 1704, at the age of 48. Arguably, though, he was in the chair less suited to him. Despite his ability in mathematics, he also had a passion for astronomy, publishing an influential work on comets entitled .

Halley was one of the first Savilian Professors to reside on ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Lane, next door in fact to the incumbent Professor of Astronomy, David Gregory (1659–1708). A Scotsman, he was the first foreigner to hold a Savilian professorship and the first person to write a textbook on astronomy that promulgated Newton's revolutionary gravitational theory. The text, entitled is still in ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Library today and is pictured to the left. The close proximity of the two professors on ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Lane proved to be extremely beneficial for their research. Before Halley left Oxford to become the Astronomer Royal in Greenwich, the two worked together closely, publishing an edition of Apollonius’s .

The next significant incumbent of the Astronomy chair was James Bradley (1693?–1752), who held tenure in this position for an astounding forty years in total. A professor with a very modern approach, Bradley's research focused on meticulous observational accuracy, an insistence on the greatest precision in instrument design and cross-checking of data. This very scientific method also produced results—Bradley discovered the aberration of light, calculated that light travels from the Sun to Earth in eight minutes twelve seconds (very nearly the accurate value), and also discovered that the Earth's axis is subtly changed due to nutation, shifting major circles of latitude defined by the Earth’s tilt.

Bradley's successor, Thomas Hornsby (1733–1810), was also exceedingly industrious. He was not only Professor of Astronomy, but also Reader in Experimental Philosophy, Sedleian Professor of Natural Philosophy, Radcliffe Librarian, and founder to the Radcliffe Observatory in 1772.

Hornsby would put his new observatory to good use. During his time as the inaugural Radcliffe Observer, he racked up 78,000 transit and 20,000 quadrant observations. The new observatory also facilitated Hornsby’s post-detection of Uranus, a planet that was only discovered in 1781. In recognition of his outstanding career, a lunar crater was named in his honour in 1973.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Reverend Baden Powell was born (1796–1860). Although best known today as the father of the founder of the Scout movement, Baden Powell was a notable Savilian Professor, who made it his duty to raise the status of mathematics in the university, which had not been a traditional area of focus when compared to other institutions such as Cambridge. Firstly, he established scholarships to bridge the gap for the most able mathematicians—four future professors would benefit from these so they had a clear and lasting impact. Secondly, he was an early supporter of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, founded in 1831.

Frustrated by the lack of support amongst the wider university, though, Baden Powell published The Present State and Future Prospects of Mathematical and Physical Studies in the University of Oxford in 1831. In it, he lamented:

• That the university did not require student attendance at public mathematics and science lectures.
• That students learnt by rote their Euclid.
• That they were admitted to the university unacquainted with mathematics.
• That the university produced graduates 'profoundly ignorant of the most common principles of science’.

This report, though, did not achieve its desired outcomes, far from it. Instead, there was a predictable counter-reaction by the university, which disagreed profoundly with Baden Powell’s arguments. Unfortunately, this Savilian professor lacked the political acumen to effect most of his desired changes.

Henry John Stephen Smith (1826–1883) had a much better relationship with the university when compared to his predecessor. His contributions to mathematical research at Oxford were immense, most associated with geometry, number theory, and elliptic functions. This research was also combined with teaching of the highest calibre. Taking his teaching responsibilities seriously, Stephen Smith pioneered a Modern Geometry course at Oxford, the earliest in any English university.

Reverend Charles Pritchard (1808–1893) then became astronomy professor in 1870, the first Savilian to accede by right to a ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ fellowship, in the wake of statutory reforms. Interested in mathematics from an early age, he published his Introduction to Arithmetic in 1825 whilst still a teenager. Like Stephen Smith, Pritchard also enjoyed a positive relationship with the university authorities. Indeed, his most conspicuous achievement as Savilian Professor was definitely in the area of astronomy, as he skillfully petitioned the university to build a new Savilian Observatory for Astronomical Physics, which opened in 1885. Situated in the University Parks and designed by Charles Barry, this observatory included a refracting telescope of 310mm aperture, cutting edge for the time. Thanks to his extensive research and publications, Pritchard was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society in 1892.

One of Pritchard’s contemporary professors of geometry, James Joseph Sylvester (1814–1897) was one of the most controversial of any professor to hold a Savilian chair. Prior to his appointment as Professor of Geometry in 1883, he had left no fewer than two establishments in disgrace after allegedly assaulting a student, first with a table knife and then with a sword cane. As a result, perhaps, of these instances, he was also particularly well-travelled, crossing the Atlantic twice for different academic posts.

Whilst a Savilian professor, though, his career thankfully became much less controversial, far from it. His contribution to mathematics attracted many awards and prizes—he founded the American Journal of Mathematics and built on this achievement at Oxford, founding the Oxford Mathematical Society in 1888 to stimulate research-level discussion. Keen to interact in college life as well as the wider university, he even served on ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ’s Library Committee. The Library Benefactors’ Book lists him donating several books, as you can see pictured below.

Sylvester was also a notable professor because he was Jewish. To matriculate at Oxford (or to graduate at Cambridge) for centuries it had been necessary to subscribe to the Thirty-Nine articles of the Anglican faith, essentially barring non-Christians or Christians from other denominations from the university. Thankfully, though, the Universities Tests Act was passed in 1872, abolishing these restrictions and ensuring that Oxford, as Sylvester himself remarked, could welcome all, regardless of faith.

The final Savilian Astronomer appointed during Queen Victoria’s reign was Herbert Hall Turner (1861–1930), who was appointed in 1893. A researcher of profound output, he had previously worked as the chief assistant at Greenwich’s Royal Observatory, making him the perfect fit for the role. Today, he is perhaps most well-known for coining the term 'parsec’, the astronomical unit of distance equating to 3.26 light years. Throughout his career, he won several awards, including the Bruce Gold Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1927 and a Gold Medal from Pope Pius XI in 1929 for his services to astronomy.

Similarly to Baden Powell, though, his academic achievements were somewhat undermined by his inability to successfully negotiate university politics. During his tenure, Hall Turner was embroiled in a particular controversy around the University Observatory, which had only been built in 1885. To assist with his observations, Hall Turner had wanted a house to be built next to it, but this aim was thwarted in two votes of congregation. Many felt that the University Observatory was not important, as it was not as well equipped as the older Radcliffe Observatory and it was a waste of money to support both. Angry at the decision, Hall Turner wrote in the Times that:

Unfortunately, the stress resulting from the dispute may have led to Hall Turner’s death—a sad end to a distinguished academic career.

This short history of the Savilian chairs has demonstrated both the breadth of scholars appointed to the roles and the depth of their achievements in both astronomy and geometry. Ever since Henry Briggs used the newly created position to introduce the research of Kepler to Oxford, subsequent incumbents have utilised public lectures, books, and experimental observations to build on existing knowledge and develop new ideas, with some, such as Christopher Wren, remaining household names even today.

Due to the timeframe involved and the wide subject areas, this online exhibition must remain an introduction to this area. For those interested in discovering more, New College Library published a book in 2019 on the Savilian Professorships, in honour of the quatercentenary of their foundation in 1619. To find out more, visit the relevant page on the ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ website here.

For those keen to continue with our online exhibition, our focus now shifts from the history of the professors themselves to the wider exploration of both disciplines through ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Library’s collections. Click the box below to continue your journey and learn more about the history of geometry.