George Chrystal at work. Etching by W. Hole, 1884Foveran Churchyard
George ChrystalFRSEFRS (8 March 1851 – 3 November 1911) was a Scottishmathematician.[1] He is primarily known for his books on algebra and his studies of seiches (wave patterns in large inland bodies of water) which earned him a Gold Medal from the Royal Society of London that was confirmed shortly after his death.[2]
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1880, his proposers including James Clerk Maxwell. He was awarded the Society's Keith Medal for 1879-81 and their Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize for the period 1904–8. He served as Vice President of the Society from 1895-1901 and General Secretary from 1901–1911.[6] He is credited with instigating the move of the Society from the Mound to George Street.[7][8]
He grew ill in 1909 and this worsened early in 1911, leading the University to grant him leave of absence from April of that year. A work-free summer did not improve him.[11] He died on 3 November 1911[12] at 5 Belgrave Crescent in Edinburgh. He is buried in Foveran Churchyard in Aberdeenshire.
He married Margaret Anne Balfour (1851-1903) in 1879. She died before him and is buried in the northern Victorian extension to Dean Cemetery with their son Walter MacDonald Chrystal who died in infancy. They had four sons and two daughters.
Chrystal, George (May 1999) [1886]. Algebra: An Elementary Text-Book for the Higher Classes of Secondary Schools and for Colleges. (Volumes I &II) (7 ed.). American Mathematical Society. ISBN978-0-8218-1931-9. (Out of copyright: 1900 and subsequent editions are available in reprint or online.)
Three articles within the 1911 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica: Pascal, Blaise; Perpetual Motion; and Riemann, Georg Friedrich Bernhard.
Works by or about George ChrystalatWikisource
