Morris Birkbeck Pell

Morris Birkbeck Pell (31 March 1827, Albion, Illinois, United States of America — 7 May 1879, Glebe, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) was an American-Australian mathematician. His maternal grandfather was Morris Birkbeck (1764-1825), the English Quaker social reformer, author/publicist and agricultural pioneer from Settle, England, who had founded the prairie settlement of Albion, Illinois in 1817.

In 1852 Pell was chosen from twenty-six candidates as the first Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the now Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney. Having graduated as senior wrangler in mathematics at Cambridge in 1849 (i.e. the highest-scoring first-class honours student of his year), he was just 24 years old when he accepted the Sydney appointment. He was one of the University's three foundation professors.

In 1854 in evidence to a Legislative Council (New South Wales government upper house) select committee on education Pell advocated the opening of a secular grammar school. In 1859 he testified to the Legislative Assembly select committees on the Sydney Grammar School and the University of Sydney on the composition of the senate, the adverse effect of clergy on enrolments, the new buildings, the value of liberal studies in the education of businessmen and squatters (q.v. Squatting (pastoral)), and the beneficial effect of the university on secondary education. His evidence resulted in ex officio membership of the university senate for professors. He was a member of it in 1861-77 and after resignation was re-elected to the senate in 1878 by members of convocation.

External links

• Morris Birkbeck Pell at the Australian Dictionary of Biography Online