author

George Whitehead Hearn

1812–1851

A 19th-century mathematician with a gift for rigorous geometry, he wrote dense but ambitious studies of conic sections and partial differential equations while teaching at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

1 Audiobook

Researches on curves of the second order

Researches on curves of the second order

by George Whitehead Hearn

About the author

George Whitehead Hearn was a British mathematician who lived from 1812 to 1851. The Royal Society's Science in the Making catalog identifies him as a professor of mathematics at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

He is best known for Researches on Curves of the Second Order (1846), a substantial work on conic sections, cones, and spherical conics. Library and archive records also connect him with a study of partial differential equations from the same period, showing a strong interest in advanced analytical mathematics.

Not much biographical detail seems to be widely available online, but the surviving record suggests a serious specialist whose work was aimed at mathematicians rather than a general audience. His books remain accessible through major digital libraries, which has helped preserve his place in the history of 19th-century mathematical writing.