English mathematician. He attended St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1701 and took degrees in 1709 and 1714. He proposed, in a paper of 1714, a solution of the problem of the "center of oscillation". He invented the formula known as "Taylor's Theorem", an important work of differential calculus, and successfully investigated astronomical refraction. In his 'Essay on Linear Perspective'(1715), Taylor set forth the true principles of the art, but his work suffered from brevity and obscurity, and in some cases had to be elucidated by later essayists. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society early in 1712, was a member of the Committee that adjudicated the claims of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, and acted as the Society's secretary for several years. He became interested in questions of religion and philosophy, and wrote 'On the Jewish Sacrifices' and 'On the Lawfulness of Eating Blood', although they were never completed. He died at Somerset House, and his position as one of England's greatest mathematicians has suffered as a result of his inability to express his ideas clearly in written form.
English mathematician. He attended St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1701 and took degrees in 1709 and 1714. He proposed, in a paper of 1714, a solution of the problem of the "center of oscillation". He invented the formula known as "Taylor's Theorem", an important work of differential calculus, and successfully investigated astronomical refraction. In his 'Essay on Linear Perspective'(1715), Taylor set forth the true principles of the art, but his work suffered from brevity and obscurity, and in some cases had to be elucidated by later essayists. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society early in 1712, was a member of the Committee that adjudicated the claims of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, and acted as the Society's secretary for several years. He became interested in questions of religion and philosophy, and wrote 'On the Jewish Sacrifices' and 'On the Lawfulness of Eating Blood', although they were never completed. He died at Somerset House, and his position as one of England's greatest mathematicians has suffered as a result of his inability to express his ideas clearly in written form.
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