Henry John Stephen Smith

Professor Henry John Stephen Smith FRS FRSE FRAS LLD was an Irish mathematician and amateur astronomer remembered for his work in elementary divisors, quadratic forms, and the Smith-Minkowski-Siegel mass formula in number theory. In matrix theory he is visible today in having his name on the Smith normal form of a matrix, and he was first to discover the Cantor set.

Smith was born in Dublin, Ireland, the fourth child of John Smith (1792–1828), a barrister, who died when Henry was two. His mother, Mary Murphy (d.1857), very soon afterwards moved the family to England.

At 19 he won an entrance scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford. Smith remained at Balliol College as a mathematics tutor following his graduation in 1849 and was soon promoted to Fellow status. In 1861, he was promoted to the Savilian Chair of Geometry at Oxford. In 1873, he was made the beneficiary of a fellowship at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and gave up teaching at Balliol. In 1874 he became Keeper of the University Museum and moved into the Keeper's House.

Smith was in demand for academic administrative and committee work: he was Keeper of the Oxford University Museum; a Mathematical Examiner for the University of London; a member of a Royal Commission to review scientific education practice; a member of the commission to reform University of Oxford governance; chairman of the committee of scientists overseeing the Meteorological Office; and twice president of the London Mathematical Society.

Source: Wikipedia