John Henry Pratt
British mathematician (1809-1871) · Academics · Died at 62
John Henry Pratt FRS was a British clergyman, astronomer and mathematician. A Cambridge Apostle, he joined the British East India Company in 1838 as a chaplain and later became Archdeacon of Calcutta.
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About this person
Although nominated as Bishop of Calcutta, the decision was rescinded at the last moment with George Cotton being appointed to the position. A gifted mathematician who worked on problems of geodesy and earth science, he was approached by the Surveyor General of India to examine the errors in surveys resulting from the attraction of the plumb-line to the mass of the Himalayan mountains. This led him to develop a theory based on a fluid earth of crustal balance which became the basis for the isostasy principle. He died in India of cholera while on a visit to Ghazipur.
