HAMILTON, SIR WILLIAM ROWAN

born Aug. 3/4, 1805, Dublin, Ire. died Sept. 2, 1865, Dublin Irish mathematician and astronomer who developed the theory of quaternions, a landmark in the development of algebra, and discovered the phenomenon of conical refraction. His unification of dynamics and optics, moreover, has had a lasting influence on mathematical physics, even though the full significance of his work was not fully appreciated until after the rise of quantum mechanics. Additional reading A full-scale Victorian-style biography, including Hamilton's poems, correspondence, and miscellaneous writings, is Robert Perceval Graves, Life of Sir William Rowan Hamilton, 3 vol. (188289, reprinted 1975). Thomas L. Hankins, Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1980), utilizes much unpublished material to relate the mathematician's professional and personal life and includes a useful bibliographic essay.