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William Lax (1761 – 29 October 1836) was an English astronomer and mathematician who served as Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry at the University of Cambridge for 41 years. Lax was born in Ravensworth in the North Riding of Yorkshire. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge and graduated Bachelor of Arts as the Senior Wrangler and first Smith's Prizeman of his year. He was elected a fellow of Trinity College, ordained as a minister, and received his Master of Arts. Lax was granted the livings of vicar of Marsworth, Buckinghamshire and of St Ippolyts near Hitchin, Hertfordshire, where he erected an observatory. Lax was best known for his ''Remarks on a Supposed Error in the Elements of Euclid'' (1807) and his work regarding the ''Nautical Almanac'', which was an important reference for navigation in the period. An obituary claimed that "To whatever Professor Lax applied, he made himself completely master of it". His daughter married Andrew Amos and through that line Lax is the grandfather of Sheldon Amos and the great grandfather of Maurice Amos, a notable legal dynasty. ==Early life== Lax was born in the village of Ravensworth, near Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England, the son of William (1731 – 19 August 1812) also born in Ravensworth, and Hannah Lax (1738 – 10 June 1811).〔A. M. Clerke, ‘Lax, William (1761–1836)’, rev. Anita McConnell, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 (accessed 30 April 2012 )〕 He was educated at the Kirby Ravensworth Free Grammar School, where he learned Latin (in which he became fluent) and Greek as well as English language, arithmetic and mathematics.〔 Although the school was subsidised by a charitable trust, "Free" in the context of the school's name meant free from all authority save for the Crown. Lax was admitted as a sizar to Trinity College, Cambridge University on 22 November 1780 at the age of 19. Trinity was at the time the richest college at Cambridge. Sizars were students who were not of the gentlemanly class, who were charged lower fees and obtained free food and/or lodging and other assistance during their period of study in exchange for performing work at their colleges. By the eighteenth century, sizars were fully integrated members of the community, who were as likely to be employed by Fellow commoners as companions rather than servants.〔 They were expected to wait at table (as were pensioners and scholars), but by the eighteenth century they had their own gyps (servants) and bedmakers.〔 Lax matriculated in the Michaelmas term of 1781 and became a private tutor to John Pond, later Astronomer Royal. Lax was elected a scholar (i.e. one on a scholarship) of Trinity in 1784; John Cranke and Henry Therond were his tutors, a role which would have seen them not only teaching Lax, but also acting in the role of ''in loco parentis''.〔Admissions to Trinity College, Cambridge Edited by W. W. Rouse Ball and J. A. Venn, (accessed 8 May 2012 )〕 Lax was conferred a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in 1785 and graduated as the Senior Wrangler and was awarded the first Smith's Prize of his year.〔 Until 1790, all examinations at Trinity were written in Latin. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Lax」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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