author
Robert Forsyth Scott
1849–1933
A Scottish mathematician, barrister, and Cambridge college leader, he is best remembered for a classic book on determinants and for guiding St John's College through the early 20th century.
1 Audiobook
St. John's College, Cambridge
by Robert Forsyth Scott
About the author
Born in Leith, Scotland, in 1849, Robert Forsyth Scott studied in Edinburgh and Stuttgart before going on to University College London and then St John's College, Cambridge. He excelled in mathematics there, became a fellow of the college, and later built a long career in its service.
Alongside his academic life, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn. His best-known book, The Theory of Determinants and Their Applications, helped establish his reputation among mathematicians, and he also wrote a history of St John's College.
Scott eventually became Master of St John's College, a post he held from 1908 until his death in 1933. He also served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and was knighted, reflecting the high regard in which he was held both as a scholar and as an academic administrator.