1748 - 1819
John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth (1802), which summarised the work of James Hutton. It was through this book that Hutton's principle of uniformitarianism, later taken up by Charles Lyell, first reached a wide audience. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of John Playfair has received more than 135,640 page views. His biography is available in 28 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 27 in 2019). John Playfair is the 605th most popular mathematician (down from 461st in 2019), the 2,936th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 2,186th in 2019) and the 65th most popular British Mathematician.
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Among mathematicians, John Playfair ranks 605 out of 823. Before him are Michael Artin, Alfred Pringsheim, Saunders Mac Lane, Jürgen Moser, Jean-Étienne Montucla, and Plato Tiburtinus. After him are Alicia Boole Stott, Ludwig Bieberbach, Giovanni Antonio Amedeo Plana, Jan Śniadecki, Lewis Fry Richardson, and Endre Szemerédi.
1934 - Present
HPI: 48.78
Rank: 599
1850 - 1941
HPI: 48.76
Rank: 600
1909 - 2005
HPI: 48.76
Rank: 601
1928 - 1999
HPI: 48.74
Rank: 602
1725 - 1799
HPI: 48.73
Rank: 603
1110 - 1145
HPI: 48.69
Rank: 604
1748 - 1819
HPI: 48.68
Rank: 605
1860 - 1940
HPI: 48.67
Rank: 606
1886 - 1982
HPI: 48.66
Rank: 607
1781 - 1864
HPI: 48.64
Rank: 608
1756 - 1830
HPI: 48.64
Rank: 609
1881 - 1953
HPI: 48.64
Rank: 610
1940 - Present
HPI: 48.59
Rank: 611
Among people born in 1748, John Playfair ranks 23. Before him are Dominique, comte de Cassini, Anders Sparrman, Félix Vicq-d'Azyr, Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, Timur Shah Durrani, and Francesco Mario Pagano. After him are Joseph Bramah, Martha Jefferson, John Marshall, Asaf-ud-Daula, Charles Blagden, and William Few. Among people deceased in 1819, John Playfair ranks 23. Before him are Alexander Andreyevich Baranov, Bodawpaya, Abbé Faria, Alexander Tormasov, Johan David Åkerblad, and Valentin Vodnik. After him are Oliver Hazard Perry, John Marshall, Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg, John Jeffries, Mary Moser, and William Samuel Johnson.
1748 - 1845
HPI: 54.83
Rank: 17
1748 - 1820
HPI: 53.20
Rank: 18
1748 - 1794
HPI: 51.22
Rank: 19
1748 - 1820
HPI: 51.08
Rank: 20
1748 - 1793
HPI: 49.75
Rank: 21
1748 - 1799
HPI: 48.76
Rank: 22
1748 - 1819
HPI: 48.68
Rank: 23
1748 - 1814
HPI: 48.22
Rank: 24
1748 - 1782
HPI: 47.62
Rank: 25
1748 - 1819
HPI: 46.39
Rank: 26
1748 - 1797
HPI: 45.90
Rank: 27
1748 - 1820
HPI: 44.50
Rank: 28
1748 - 1828
HPI: 34.90
Rank: 29
1746 - 1819
HPI: 54.79
Rank: 17
1745 - 1819
HPI: 52.91
Rank: 18
1756 - 1819
HPI: 52.65
Rank: 19
1752 - 1819
HPI: 51.15
Rank: 20
1763 - 1819
HPI: 49.50
Rank: 21
1758 - 1819
HPI: 48.73
Rank: 22
1748 - 1819
HPI: 48.68
Rank: 23
1785 - 1819
HPI: 46.79
Rank: 24
1748 - 1819
HPI: 46.39
Rank: 25
1750 - 1819
HPI: 46.36
Rank: 26
1745 - 1819
HPI: 44.83
Rank: 27
1744 - 1819
HPI: 44.69
Rank: 28
1727 - 1819
HPI: 40.46
Rank: 29
Among people born in United Kingdom, John Playfair ranks 2,936 out of 7,765. Before him are Divina Galica (1944), Jack Grealish (1995), Constance Markievicz (1868), Dave Legeno (1963), Christopher Cradock (1862), and Ian Wright (1963). After him are Andy Goldsworthy (1956), Rowland Hill (1795), Clare Torry (1947), Princess Louisa of Great Britain (1749), Jimmy Gardner (1924), and Edmund Purdom (1926).
1944 - Present
HPI: 48.69
Rank: 2,930
1995 - Present
HPI: 48.69
Rank: 2,931
1868 - 1927
HPI: 48.69
Rank: 2,932
1963 - 2014
HPI: 48.68
Rank: 2,933
1862 - 1914
HPI: 48.68
Rank: 2,934
1963 - Present
HPI: 48.68
Rank: 2,935
1748 - 1819
HPI: 48.68
Rank: 2,936
1956 - Present
HPI: 48.68
Rank: 2,937
1795 - 1879
HPI: 48.68
Rank: 2,938
1947 - Present
HPI: 48.66
Rank: 2,939
1749 - 1768
HPI: 48.66
Rank: 2,940
1924 - 2010
HPI: 48.65
Rank: 2,941
1926 - 2009
HPI: 48.65
Rank: 2,942
Among mathematicians born in United Kingdom, John Playfair ranks 65. Before him are Ian Stewart (1945), Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter (1907), William Burnside (1852), Edmund Gunter (1581), John Lennox (1943), and Joseph Raphson (1648). After him are Lewis Fry Richardson (1881), Thomas Digges (1546), James Ivory (1765), Robert Simson (1687), Paul Bernays (1888), and David Gregory (1659).
1945 - Present
HPI: 49.79
Rank: 59
1907 - 2003
HPI: 49.65
Rank: 60
1852 - 1927
HPI: 49.46
Rank: 61
1581 - 1626
HPI: 49.29
Rank: 62
1943 - Present
HPI: 48.95
Rank: 63
1648 - 1715
HPI: 48.87
Rank: 64
1748 - 1819
HPI: 48.68
Rank: 65
1881 - 1953
HPI: 48.64
Rank: 66
1546 - 1595
HPI: 48.55
Rank: 67
1765 - 1842
HPI: 48.21
Rank: 68
1687 - 1768
HPI: 48.09
Rank: 69
1888 - 1977
HPI: 47.93
Rank: 70
1659 - 1708
HPI: 47.73
Rank: 71