J. M. Wilson

James Maurice Wilson (6 November 1836, Castletown, Isle of Man – 15 April 1931, Steep, Hampshire) was a British priest in the Church of England as well as a theologian, teacher and astronomer.

Early life

Wilson and his twin brother, Edward Pears Wilson, attended King William's College on the Isle of Man from August 1848 to midsummer 1853 (his twin died in December 1856). Their father Edward, vicar of Nocton in Lincolnshire, had earlier been headmaster there. According to his autobiography, Wilson had a rather unhappy time at King William's College. He later studied at Sedbergh School (between 1853 and 1855).

Wilson entered St John's College, Cambridge, in 1855, where he was Senior Wrangler in 1859. He received a Master of Arts degree in 1862 and was a fellow from 1859 to 1868.

Career

Wilson was a major figure in the development and reform of Victorian public schools and promoted the teaching of science, which had until then been neglected. He was maths and science master at Rugby School from 1859 to 1879 and headmaster of Clifton College from 1879 to 1890.

He made astronomical observations (particularly of double stars) at Temple Observatory at Rugby with his former student George Mitchell Seabroke. Temple Observatory was named after Frederick Temple, headmaster of Rugby School, who later became Bishop of Exeter and Archbishop of Canterbury.

Wilson was encouraged by Temple to write the textbook Elementary Geometry, which was published in 1868. Until that time, Euclid's Elements had remained the standard textbook used in British schools.