William Ludlam (330)

William Ludlam (bap. 8 April 1717-16 March 1788) was a mathematician, lecturer, vicar, theologian, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1773. He was the son of physician Richard Ludlam and his wife, Anne. As a child he attended Leicester Grammar School, and upon finishing his studies there, became a scholar at St. John’s College, Cambridge, and matriculated there in 1734. He graduated with his B.A. in 1738, became a deacon in 1741, and then graduated with his M.A. and was ordained a priest the following year. He began serving parishes in Leicestershire and earned his B.D. during this time. He built a reputation for his knowledge of practical mechanics, astronomy, and mathematics while junior dean at St. John’s from 1754 to 1757, and subsequently became the Linacre lecturer in physic from 1767 to 1769. During this time, he was also appointed to examine John Harrison’s fourth chronometer as part of the Committee of Outside Experts selected by the Board of Longitude. His 1765 report in Gentleman’s Magazine conveyed an apprehensive approval of the device. In 1768, he moved to Leicester after being granted the rectory of Cockfield in Suffolk by his college. At Leicester he wrote prolifically in the fields of astronomy, mechanics, and mathematical instruments. His 1785 Rudiments of Mathematics became a standard Cambridge textbook used well into the 19th century. He continued to contribute to Gentleman’s Magazine and penned some theological texts as well, such as his Two Essays on the Justification and Influence of the Holy Spirit (1788). He died that same year in Leicester and was buried at St. Mary’s, Leicester. (DNB)