E. W. Hobson

Ernest William Hobson (27 October 1856 - 19 April 1933) was an English mathematician, now remembered mostly for his books, some of which broke new ground in their coverage in English of topics from mathematical analysis. He was Sadleirian Professor at the University of Cambridge from 1910 to 1931.

He was born in Derby, and was educated at Derby School, the Royal College of Mines , and Christ's College, Cambridge. He became a Fellow of Christ's almost immediately after graduation. He made his way into research mathematics only gradually, becoming an expert in the theory of spherical harmonics.

His 1907 work on real analysis was something of a watershed in the British mathematical tradition; and was lauded by G. H. Hardy. It included material on general topology and Fourier series that was topical at the time; and included mistakes that were picked up later (for example by R. L. Moore).

Works

• A Treatise on Trigonometry (1891)
• Theory of Functions of a Real Variable (1907)
• Squaring the Circle (1913)
• The Domain of Natural Science (1923) Gifford Lectures
• The Theory of Spherical and Ellipsoidal Harmonics (1931)