Senior Wrangler Explained

The Senior Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain".[1]

Specifically, it is the person who achieves the highest overall mark among the Wranglers – the students at Cambridge who gain first-class degrees in mathematics. The Cambridge undergraduate mathematics course, or Mathematical Tripos, is famously difficult.

Many Senior Wranglers have become world-leading figures in mathematics, physics, and other fields. They include George Airy, Jacob Bronowski, Christopher Budd, Kevin Buzzard, Arthur Cayley, Donald Coxeter, Arthur Eddington, Ben Green, John Herschel, James Inman, J. E. Littlewood, Lee Hsien Loong, Jayant Narlikar, Morris Pell, John Polkinghorne, Frank Ramsey, Lord Rayleigh (John Strutt), Sir George Stokes, Isaac Todhunter, Sir Gilbert Walker, and James H. Wilkinson.

Senior Wranglers were once fêted with torchlit processions and took pride of place in the university's graduation ceremony.[2] Years in Cambridge were often remembered by who had been Senior Wrangler that year.[1]

The annual ceremony in which the Senior Wrangler becomes known was first held in the 18th century. Standing on the balcony of the university's Senate House, the examiner reads out the class results for mathematics,[3] and printed copies of the results are then thrown to the audience below. The examiner no longer announces the students' exact rankings, but they still identify the Senior Wrangler, nowadays tipping their academic hat when reading out the person's name.

Others who finished in the top 12

Those who have achieved second place, known as Second Wranglers, include Alfred Marshall, James Clerk Maxwell, J. J. Thomson, Lord Kelvin, William Clifford, and William Whewell.

Those who have finished between third and 12th include Archibald Hill, Karl Pearson and William Henry Bragg (third), George Green, G. H. Hardy, and Alfred North Whitehead (fourth), Adam Sedgwick (fifth), John Venn (sixth), Bertrand Russell, Nevil Maskelyne and Sir James Timmins Chance (seventh), Thomas Malthus (ninth), and John Maynard Keynes and William Henry Fox Talbot (12th).

History

Between 1748 and 1909 the university publicly announced the ranking,[4] which was then reported in newspapers such as The Times. The examination was considered to be by far the most important in Britain and the Empire. The prestige of being a high Wrangler was great; the respect accorded to the Senior Wrangler was immense. Andrew Warwick, author of Masters of Theory, describes the term 'Senior Wrangler' as "synonymous with academic supremacy".[5]

Since 1910 successful students in the examinations have been told their rankings privately, and not all Senior Wranglers have become publicly known as such. In recent years, the custom of discretion regarding ranking has progressively vanished, and all Senior Wranglers since 2010 have announced their identity publicly.

The youngest person to be Senior Wrangler is probably Arran Fernandez, who came top in 2013, aged 18 years and 0 months.[6] The previous youngest was probably James Wilkinson in 1939, aged 19 years and nine months.[7] The youngest up to 1909 were Alfred Flux in 1887, aged 20 years and two months[8] and Peter Tait in 1852, aged 20 years and eight months.[9]

Two individuals have placed first without becoming known as Senior Wrangler. One was the student Philippa Fawcett in 1890. At that time, although the university allowed women to take the examinations, it did not allow them to be members of the university, nor to receive degrees. Therefore, they could not be known as 'Wranglers', and were merely told how they had performed compared to the male candidates, for example, "equal to the Third Wrangler", or "between the Seventh and Eighth Wranglers". Having gained the highest mark, Fawcett was declared to have finished "above the Senior Wrangler".

The other was the mathematics professor George Pólya. As he had contributed to reforming the Tripos with the aim that an excellent performance would be less dependent on solving hard problems and more so on showing a broad mathematical understanding and knowledge, G.H. Hardy asked Pólya to sit the examinations himself, unofficially, during his stay in England in 1924–5. Pólya did so, and to Hardy's surprise, received the highest mark, an achievement which, had he been a student, would have made him the Senior Wrangler.[10]

Derived uses of the term

Senior Wrangler's Walk is a path in Cambridge, the walk to and along which was considered to be sufficient constitutional exercise for a student aspiring to become the Senior Wrangler. The route was shorter than other walks, such as Wranglers' Walk and the Grantchester Grind, undertaken by undergraduates whose aspirations were lower.[11]

Senior Wrangler sauce is a Cambridge term for brandy butter, a type of hard sauce made from brandy, butter, and sugar, traditionally served in Britain with Christmas pudding and warm mince pies.[12]

Senior Wrangler is also the name of a solitaire card game, alternatively known as Mathematics and Double Calculation, played with two decks of cards and involving elementary modular arithmetic.[13] [14]

Literary references

Fictional Senior Wranglers appearing in novels include Roger Hamley, a character in Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters, and Tom Jericho, the cryptanalyst in Robert Harris's novel Enigma, who is described as having been Senior Wrangler in 1938. In Catherine Hall's The Proof of Love, Victor Turner is listed as having been Senior Wrangler in 1968.

In George Bernard Shaw's play Mrs. Warren's Profession, the title character's daughter Vivie is praised for "tieing with the third wrangler," and she comments that "the mathematical tripos" means "grind, grind, grind for six to eight hours a day at mathematics, and nothing but mathematics."

In Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End, the character Christopher Tietjens is described as having settled deliberately for only being Second Wrangler, to avoid the weight of expectation that the title would create.

In his Discworld series of novels, Terry Pratchett has a character called the Senior Wrangler, a faculty member at the Unseen University, whose first name is Horace.

The compiler of crosswords for The Leader in the 1930s used 'Senior Wrangler' as a pseudonym.[15]

Coaches

The two most successful 19th-century coaches of Senior Wranglers were William Hopkins and Edward Routh. Hopkins, the 'Senior Wrangler Maker', who himself was the 7th Wrangler, coached 17 Senior Wranglers. Routh, who had himself been the Senior Wrangler, coached 27.[16] Another, described by his student (and Senior Wrangler) J.E. Littlewood as "the last of the great coaches", was another Senior Wrangler, Robert Alfred Herman.[17]

Senior Wranglers and runners up, 1748–1909

During 1748–1909 the top two colleges in terms of number of Senior Wranglers were Trinity and St John's with 56 and 54 respectively. Gonville and Caius was third with 13.

Year Senior Wrangler(s)[18] College Proxime accessit/accesserunt
(runner(s) up) 		College
1748 John Cranwell Sidney Sussex
1749 Francis Coventry Magdalene
1750 John Gooch Gonville and Caius
1751 William Cardale Pembroke
1752 Clare
1753 William Preston Trinity
1754 Samuel Hallifax Jesus
1755 Queens'
1756 William Bearcroft Peterhouse
1757
1758 Sidney Sussex
1759 Trinity
1760 Anthony Hamilton Corpus Christi
1761 Timothy Lowten St John's
1762 Jeremiah Pemberton Pembroke
1763 Gonville and Caius
1764 John Fairfax Francklin Emmanuel
1765 John Clement Ives Gonville and Caius
1766 Christ's
1767 George Dutens Queens'
1768 George Fielding Trinity
1769 William Burslem St John's
1770
1771 Gonville and Caius
1772 Clare
1773 St John's
1774 Peterhouse
1775 St John's
1776 Jesus
1777 Trinity
1778 Emmanuel
1779 St John's
1780 Christ's
1781 & Trinity & Queens'
1782 Trinity
1783 Magdalene
1784 Sidney Sussex
1785 Clare
1786 Jesus
1787 St John's
1788
1789 Trinity
1790 Fletcher Raincock Pembroke
1791 Gonville and Caius
1792 Trinity
1793
1794
1795 Gonville and Caius
1796 Trinity
1797
1798 Robert Martin
1799
1800 Corpus Christi
1801 Pembroke
1802 Christ's
1803 St John's
1804 [19] Trinity
1805
1806 St John's
1807 Trinity
1808 St John's
1809 Gonville and Caius
1810 Trinity
1811 Caius
1812 Trinity
1813
1814 St John's
1815 Jesus
1816 Trinity
1817 Pembroke
1818 St John's
1819
1820
1821
1822 Corpus Christi
1823 St John's
1824[20] Corpus Christi
1825 Clare
1826 [21] St John's
1827 Trinity
1828 St John's
1829 Trinity
1830 Sidney Sussex
1831 St John's
1832
1833 Pembroke
1834 Trinity
1835
1836 St John's
1837
1838 Corpus Christi
1839 St John's
1840 Caius
1841 Trinity
1842 St John's
1843
1844 Gonville and Caius
1845 (later known as Lord Kelvin) Peterhouse
1846 Pembroke
1847 Trinity
1848 Gonville and Caius
1849
1850 Trinity
1851 St John's
1852 Peterhouse
1853 Emmanuel
1854 Peterhouse & Trinity
1855 St John's
1856 Trinity
1857 Pembroke
1858 Peterhouse
1859 & Trinity & Gonville and Caius
1860 St John's
1861 Magdalene
1862 St John's
1863 Trinity
1864
1865 St John's
1866 Trinity
1867
1868
1869 St John's
1870
1871 Trinity
1872
1873
1874
1875 Pembroke & Peterhouse
1876 Clare
1877 Gonville and Caius
1878 Trinity
1879 Queens'
1880 Trinity
1881
1882[22] St John's
1882 Trinity
1883
1884
1885 St John's
1886
1887 , Sir Alfred William Flux, John Henry Michell & John Cyril Iles Emmanuel
1888 Trinity
1889 & Percy Cory Gaul[23] Trinity & Trinity
1890 Geoffrey Thomas Bennett

Philippa Fawcett placed "Above the Senior Wrangler"
St John's
(Fawcett: Newnham) 		Trinity
1891 & Christ's & Sidney Sussex
1892 Christ's
1893 & King's & Trinity
1894 & William Fellows Sedgwick Clare
1895 Peterhouse & Trinity
1896 , & Trinity, Trinity & Trinity
1897 Trinity
1898 Gonville and Caius & Trinity
1899 Trinity
1900 Trinity Hall
1901 Emmanuel
1902 St John's
1903 & Philip Edward Marrack , Ernest Gold, George Frederic Sowden Hills and Sidney Hill Phillips Trinity, St John's, Trinity and St John's
1904 Trinity
1905 Trinity Hall
1906 & Clare
1907 Trinity
1908 & A. W. Ibbotson Christ's
1909 Trinity

Senior Wranglers since 1910

Year Senior Wrangler College
1912 King's
1914 [24] Trinity
1923 [25]
1928 [26]
1930 [27] Jesus
1934 [28] Clare
1939 [29] Trinity
1940 [30]
1944 [31] St John's
1948 [32] Trinity
1952
1953 [33] Trinity Hall
1959 [34] non-collegiate
1964 [35] Trinity
1966
1967 [36] Churchill
1970 [37] King's
1972 [38] Christ's
1973 [39] [40] Trinity
1975 [41] St John's
1977 [42] [43] Trinity
1981 Churchill
1982 [44] St John's
1983 Trinity
1985 [45]
1990 [46]
1992 [47] [48] Queens'
1993 Trinity
1994Churchill
1995Balazs SzendroiTrinity
1996David W. Essex
1997
1998 [49]
1999 Peterhouse
2000 [50] [51] Trinity
2001 [52]
2002
2003 [53]
2004 [54]
2005Tim Austin
2006Antonio Lei
2007 [55]
2008 [56]
2009 [57] Trinity Hall
2010 [58] Trinity
2011 [59] Gonville and Caius
2012 [60] Trinity
2013 [61] Fitzwilliam
2014 [62] Downing
2015 [63] Trinity
2016 [64] Churchill
2017 Trinity
2018
2019 [65]
2020 N/A
2021 Trinity
2022
2023
2024 St John's

Senior Wranglers since 1910 also include:

See also

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Forfar . David . What became of the Senior Wranglers?. Mathematical Spectrum . 29 . 1 . 1996.
  2. Moore . Gregory . Masters of Theory and its Relevance to the History of Economic Thought. History of Economics Review. 42 . 1 . 2005 . 77–99. 10.1080/18386318.2005.11681216 . 148477456 .
  3. Web site: Peter Guthrie Tait.
  4. Book: Craik, A.D.D.. Mr Hopkins' Men. Springer London. 2007. 978-1-84628-790-9. 10.1007/978-1-84628-791-6.
  5. Book: Warwick, Andrew . Masters of Theory: Cambridge and the Rise of Mathematical Physics . registration . 2003 . University Of Chicago Press . 0-226-87375-7 . 205 .
  6. News: Student, 18, youngest ever to come top in Cambridge maths finals . . 21 June 2013.
  7. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1074920 Wilkinson, James H.
  8. News: 24 June 1899 . To the Editor of the Spectator . . 6 December 2013 .
  9. Book: Crilly, Tony . Arthur Cayley: mathematician laureate of the Victorian age . 2006 . Johns Hopkins University Press . 0-8018-8011-4 . 160 .
  10. Book: The random walks of George Pólya . Alexanderson. Gerald L. Alexanderson. 2000 . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge . 68.
  11. Book: Science incarnate: historical embodiments of natural knowledge . Stephen . Shapin . Christopher . Lawrence . 1998 . University of Chicago Press . Chicago . 0-226-47014-8 . 303 .
  12. Web site: Brandy butter. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225616/http://www.az-encyclopedia.info/b/511431_Brandy_butter/. dead. 2016-03-03. 2011-12-09.
  13. Book: Coops, Helen L . 100 Games of Solitaire (Complete with layouts for playing) . 1939 . Whitman Publishing Company . 205 .
  14. Book: Goren, Charles Henry . Goren's Hoyle Encyclopedia of Games: With Official Rules and Pointers on Play, Including the Latest Laws of Contract Bridge . registration . 1961 . Greystone Press . 643 .
  15. Book: The Handy Crossword Companion . "Senior Wrangler" of the Leader . 1932 . Odhams Press .
  16. Book: Aris . Rutherford . Davis . H. Ted . Stuewer . Roger H. . Springs of scientific creativity : essays on founders of modern science . University of Minnesota Press . Minneapolis . 1983 . 0-8166-6830-2 . 814078408 . 164.
  17. Book: A Mathematician's Miscellany . Littlewood . John Edensor . . 1953 . 70 . J.E. Littlewood .
  18. Book: Neale, Charles Montague . 1907 . The senior wranglers of the University of Cambridge, from 1748 to 1907. With biographical, & c., notes . Groom and Son . Bury St. Edmunds.
  19. It appears that '22nd wrangler' in the entry for William Albin Garratt in Venn. is a misprint for '2nd wrangler'; cf Neale, Charles Montague (1907), The Senior Wranglers of the University of Cambridge, from 1748 to 1907: With Biographical, etc., Notes (Bury St. Edmunds: F.T. Groom and Son; 61pp), p. 26; at all events, Garratt took the First Smith's Prize in 1804, with the Senior Wrangler, Kaye, placing Second, although Kaye also took the Senior Classical Medal (for reference without prejudice, at the time, other things being equal, undergraduates at Trinity were given preference for the Smith's Prizes)
  20. Classical Tripos established.
  21. Founded Hymers College.
  22. An account exists of the 1882 graduation ceremony. News: University Intelligence. The Times. 2008-09-25. 30 January 1882.
  23. Book: John Venn. Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. 15 September 2011. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-108-03613-9. 25.
  24. Web site: Brian Charles Molony (1892–1963). 6 July 2013.
  25. Book: Krantz . Stephen . Parks . Harold . 2014 . A Mathematical Odyssey: Journey from the Real to the Complex . Springer . 64 . 978-1461489382.
  26. Roberts . Siobhan . Ivić Weiss . Asia . Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter. 9 February 1907 — 31 March 2003 . Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society . The Royal Society . 52 . 2006 . 0080-4606 . 10.1098/rsbm.2006.0004 . 45–66. 70400674 .
  27. Bronowski's biography at the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive: Web site: Jacob Bronowski. 6 July 2013. University of St Andrews.
  28. Uppingham School and Clare College Archives.
  29. Wilkinson's biography at the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive: Web site: James Hardy Wilkinson. 6 July 2013. University of St Andrews. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20081122044557/http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Wilkinson.html. 22 November 2008.
  30. Web site: Oral History Transcript — Dr. Hermann Bondi . 6 July 2013. American Institute of Physics.
  31. Web site: John Denis Sargan . 3 April 2022.
  32. Trinity College Cambridge,"Making Guinness Guinness – Michael Ash", The Fountain, Issue 23"
  33. Web site: Crispin St John Alvah Nash-Williams. 6 July 2013. University of St Andrews.
  34. Book: Mitton, Simon. Fred Hoyle: A Life in Science. Aurum. 2005. 978-1-85410-961-3. 275.
  35. Web site: Geoffrey Charles Fox. 3 February 2021.
  36. Web site: Sudden end to the first Mastership. 8 November 2021. Churchill College, Cambridge.
  37. News: Profile: Banking's boy wonder: Derek Wanless – NatWest's chief has a personal touch but a pragmatic vision, says William Kay. . 27 March 1994.
  38. Book: Woo, Gordon. The Mathematics of Natural Catastrophes. Imperial College Press. 1999. 1-86094-182-6. 292.
  39. Book: Kuan Yew, Lee. From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000. Harper. 2000. 978-0-06019-776-6. 750–751. registration.
  40. News: Dennis Marrian, University Tutor . Neo Hui Min . . 12 August 2004 . 2 June 2013.
  41. Web site: Oral history interview with Wallace Sargent. 24 September 2021 . 12 November 2022.
  42. Web site: Seven things people didn't know about me. 2011-01-06.
  43. Web site: (correction by author). 2012-02-26.
  44. Web site: Curriculum vitae of Prof. C. J. Budd. 2019-05-08. University of Bath.
  45. Web site: Whirlpool numbers. 6 July 2013. Plus Magazine.
  46. Web site: CV of Kevin Buzzard. 16 September 2014.
  47. Web site: Letter of confirmation of first place 1992 pt II mathematical tripos. 2015-04-06.
  48. Web site: Where are they now? Ruth Hendry (1989): the only known female Senior Wrangler in history. 2016-09-09.
  49. Web site: Mathematical biography of Ben Green. 2011-01-06. Clay Mathematics Institute.
  50. Web site: Toby Gee. 2011-01-06. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927222100/http://www.math.northwestern.edu/~gee/Index_files/cv.pdf. 2011-09-27.
  51. Web site: Answers, results of polls, and a brief description of the program. Timothy Gowers. 14 April 2013 . 2013-05-11.
  52. Web site: The Next Generation of Proof Assistants. 6 July 2013 . Computing Science Department – Radboud University Nijmegen.
  53. Web site: The 46th International Mathematical Olympiad in Mexico. 2011-01-19.
  54. Web site: David Loeffler Curriculum Vitae. 1 October 2015.
  55. Web site: Varsity 100 . 2012-08-10. Mercer Management Consulting.
  56. Web site: Dấu ấn Việt ở Cambridge . 7 February 2008 . 2012-03-18. Tuổi Trẻ Online.
  57. Web site: Trinity Hall rises to 7th in the Baxter tables. 6 July 2013. Trinity Hall.
  58. Web site: CV Zihan Hans Liu. Trinity.
  59. Web site: Sean Eberhard '08 Reaches Pinnacle at Cambridge. 2011-10-05. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120401130227/http://www.bishopodowd.org/admin/?p=2337. 2012-04-01.
  60. Web site: Sean is Cambridge University's Top Maths Student. 2012-12-06. Havering Sixth Form College. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130527033652/http://www.havering-sfc.ac.uk/site/CollegeNews/PressReleases/Sean%20Moss%20-%20Top%20at%20Cambridge.pdf. 2013-05-27.
  61. Web site: Limb . Lottie . The maths genius who joined Cambridge Uni at 15 and took his GCSEs at 5 . CambridgeshireLive . 2020-11-23 . 2022-11-16.
  62. Web site: Downing College News – Senior Wrangler. 2014-06-22. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140716164133/http://www.dow.cam.ac.uk/index.php/about/news/397-seniorwrangler. 2014-07-16.
  63. Web site: Trinity College Cambridge Annual Record 2014–2015. 2016-06-10. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160808014531/https://share.trin.cam.ac.uk/sites/public/Alumni/Annual%20Records/TRINITY%20ANNUAL%20RECORD%202015%20WEB.pdf. 2016-08-08.
  64. Churchill Review . 53 . 2016 . The College Year . Sally . Boss . 15–18 . Churchill College, Cambridge.
  65. Web site: Warren Li . Warren Li . 14 February 2024.
  66. Web site: David Hobson: senior partner of Coopers & Lybrand (obituary). 6 January 2011. The Times.
  67. Web site: Sir Peter is Unhorsed. 6 July 2013. Sports Illustrated.
  68. Web site: Tributes have been paid to Dame Cheryl Gillan's husband Jack Leeming. 1 April 2019. Bucks Free Press.
  69. Web site: F M Hall (1935–2005) (obituary). 29 March 2011 . 6 July 2013. Shrewsbury School.

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