Evidence: | 'Though [William Gifford] had few means of improvement, he made the most of what he had. A treatise on algebra had been given him by a young woman, who had found it in a lodging-house. This he considered as a treasure, and he was enabled to study it by means of "Fenning's Introduction," which he found hid away among the books of his master's son. The way in which he was enabled to produce algebraic signs was remarkable. Being deprived by his hard master of pen, ink, and paper, he beat out pieces of leather as smooth as possible, and worked out his problems on them with a blunted awl.' |
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Century: | 1700-1799 | ||||||||||
Date: | Between 1 Jan 1772 and 31 Dec 1779 | ||||||||||
Country: | n/a | ||||||||||
Time: | n/a | ||||||||||
Place: | city: Ashburton | ||||||||||
Type of Experience (Reader): |
|
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Type of Experience (Listener): |
|
Reader: | William Gifford |
Age | Unknown |
Gender | Male |
Date of Birth | 1757 |
Socio-economic group: | Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder |
Occupation: | Shoemaker's apprentice |
Religion: | n/a |
Country of origin: | England |
Country of experience: | n/a |
Listeners present if any: (e.g. family, servants,
friends, workmates) |
n/a |
Additional comments: | n/a |
Author: | Fenning |
Title: | 'Introduction' [on algebra] |
Genre: | Textbook / self-education, Mathematics |
Form of Text: | Print: Book |
Publication details: | n/a |
Provenance: | Found |
Record ID: | 27027 | |
Source - | ||
Author: | Samuel Smiles | |
Editor: | n/a | |
Title: | A Publisher and His Friends: Memoir and Correspondence of the Late John Murray | |
Place of Publication: | London | |
Date of Publication: | 1891 | |
Vol: | 1 | |
Page: | 129 | |
Additional comments: | n/a |
Citation: | Samuel Smiles, A Publisher and His Friends: Memoir and Correspondence of the Late John Murray (London, 1891), 1, p. 129, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/reading/recorddetails2.php?id=27027, accessed: 26 April 2024 |
Gifford apprenticed to shoemaker for seven years from when aged 15 (see p.128 in source). |
Reading Experience Database version 2.0. Page updated: 27th Apr 2016 3:15pm (GMT)