author
Sir Horace Lamb
1849–1934
A leading figure in applied mathematics, he wrote classic works on fluid motion and sound that shaped the study of mathematical physics for generations. His teaching and research helped build the subject in both Australia and Britain.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Stockport, England, in 1849, Sir Horace Lamb studied at Owens College in Manchester and then at Trinity College, Cambridge. Early in his career he moved to Australia, where he became professor of mathematics at the University of Adelaide in 1875.
He returned to England in 1885 to take the chair of mathematics at Owens College, later the University of Manchester, and remained there for many years. Lamb became especially known for his work in fluid dynamics, acoustics, and wave motion, and for books such as Hydrodynamics and The Dynamical Theory of Sound, which remained influential long after they were first published.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and was knighted in 1931. Although he produced important original research, he is often remembered just as much for the unusual clarity of his textbooks, which introduced complex ideas in a way that students and scientists could use for decades.