John William Stubbs (1 Feb 1821–10 Oct 1897) was an Irish mathematician and clergyman who served as bursar of Trinity College Dublin (TCD).Rev John William Stubbs at Findagrave Memorial He has been co-credited with introducing the geometric concept of inversion in a circle, and late in life he authored a book on the history of the University of Dublin.Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Mathematical and physical sciences, 1945 p. 87
Biography Stubbs was born in Finglas, a suburb of Dublin, and graduated from TCD in 1840 as first senior moderator in mathematics, with a gold medal.Irish Builder and Engineer, Volume 29 p. 226
He published in mathematics over the next few years, and has been co-credited (along with John Kells Ingram) with introducing the geometric concept of inversion in a circle,A History of Mathematics By Florian Cajori, p. 292 in a joint paper.Properties of the cardioide have been obtained by the method of inversion by JK Ingram and JW Stubbs, Dublin Phil Soc Trans I, 1842–43. We now know that Jacob Steiner (in 1824) and Giusto Bellavitis (in 1836) had stumbled on similar constructions earlier, as had Joseph Liouville and, a little later, Lord Kelvin.Curves and Their Properties by Robert C. Yates, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc., Washington, D.C., p. 127: "Geometrical inversion seems to be due to Jakob Steiner who indicated a knowledge of the subject in 1824. He was closely followed by Adolphe Quetelet (1825) who gave some examples. Apparently independently discovered by Giusto Bellavitis in 1836, by Stubbs and Ingram in 1842–3, and by Lord Kelvin in 1845.)"
This Ingram & Stubbs innovation was highlighted in John Casey's work, A Sequel to the First Six Books of Euclid containing An Easy Introduction to Modern Geometry, with Numerous Examples (4th edition, 1886),A sequel to the first six books of the Elements of Euclid by John Casey, Pub Dublin : Hodges, Figgis & co. (1886) and also in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy in 1845.
In 1845 Stubbs got his MA, was made a Fellow of TCD, and was admitted to holy orders, henceforth shifting his focus to church matters. His doctor of divinity was awarded in 1866, and in 1882 he was made Senior Fellow and Bursar of TCD. He also served as the treasurer of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. He had married Catherine Louisa Cotter in 1855, and the couple subsequently had five children.
In 1889, he published the book, The History of the University of Dublin, from Its Foundation to the End of the Eighteenth Century.The history of the University of Dublin by John William Stubbs, Dublin, Hodges, Figgis, & Co.; London, Longmans, Green, & Co. (1889)
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