Gresham Professor of Geometry


The Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it created seven professorships; this was later increased to ten. Geometry is one of the original professorships as set out by the will of Thomas Gresham in 1575. The Professor of Geometry is appointed in partnership with the City of London Corporation.

List of Gresham Professors of Geometry

Note, the notation used in dates given as, for example, "159" refer to the practice of dual dating dates between 1 January and 25 March.
NameStarted
1Henry BriggsMarch 159
2Peter Turner25 July 1620
3John Greaves22 February 16
4Ralph Button15 November 1643
5Daniel Whistler13 June 1648
6Laurence Rooke7 August 1657
7Isaac Barrow16 July 1662
8Arthur Dacres20 May 1664
9Robert Hooke20 March 166
10Andrew Tooke5 July 1704
11Thomas Tomlinson3 July 1729
12George Newland27 Jan 173
13William Roman28 Nov 1749
14Wilfred Clarke28 August 1759
15S. Kittleby5 March 1765
16Samuel Birch5 July 1808
17Robert Pitt Edkins22 July 1848
18Benjamin Morgan Cowie18 Dec 1854
19Karl Pearson15 Dec 1890
20William Henry Wagstaff13 June 1894
1939–45 Lectures in abeyance1939–45 Lectures in abeyance1939–45 Lectures in abeyance
21Louis Melville Milne-Thomson29 May 1946
22Thomas A. A. Broadbent1956
23Sir Bryan Thwaites1969
24Clive W. Kilmister1972
25Sir Christopher Zeeman1988
26Ian Stewart FRS1994
27Sir Roger Penrose FRS1 Sept 1998
28Harold Thimbleby1 Sept 2001
29Robin Wilson1 Sept 2004
30John D. Barrow1 Sept 2008
31Raymond Flood2012
32Chris Budd OBE2016
33Sarah Hart2020
34Alain Goriely2024