Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947)

Alfred North Whitehead OM, FRS, FBA (1861-1947), mathematician and philosopher, co-author with Bertrand Russell of Principia Mathematica.

Alfred North Whitehead is best known for his work in mathematical logic and the philosophy of science. In collaboration with Bertrand Russell, he co-authored the landmark three-volume Principia Mathematica (1910, 1912, 1913). Later, he was instrumental in pioneering the approach to metaphysics now known as process philosophy.

Alfred was born at Ramsgate in Kent on 15 February 1861, the son of Rev. Alfred Whitehead and Maria Sarah (née Buckmaster) (1832-1924). In September 1875, he followed his brothers, Charles Selby Whitehead (1852-1934), who returned to teach at Sherborne School in 1876 and was housemaster of Abbey House 1888-1892, and Henry Whitehead (1853-1947), who served as Bishop of Madras 1899-1922, to Sherborne School where he was a member of School House. Their cousin Herbert John Buckmaster (1881-1966) also attended Sherborne School.

During his time at Sherborne School, Alfred was Head of School and won many School prizes, including the Digby Prize for Mathematics and Science (1877, 1878, 1879) and the Mathematics Medal (1878, 1879, 1880). He was a good all-rounder, playing for both the 1st XV rugby team (1877-1879) and the 1st XI cricket team (captain 1880), and was also a member of the School Debating Society, taking part in the following debates:

6 December 1876 – That ignorance and morality are preferable to wisdom and morality – against.
3 February 1877 – That at the present crisis compulsory service would be beneficial to the country – against.
24 February 1877- That a classical training develops the mind more than a mathematical – against.
29 September 1877 – That a Spendthrift is more to be admired than a Miser – against.
6 October 1877 – That England is to blame for her policy of non-intervention in the present war – against.
27 October 1877 – That Vivisection is a disgrace to a civilised country – against.
3 November 1877 – That capital punishment ought not to be abolished – against.
17 November 1877 – That Charles II is unworthy of our admiration – against.
24 November 1877 – That the murder of Julius Caesar was unjustifiable – against.
2 February 1878 – That it is to the interest of England to stop by force of arms the aggressive power of Russia – against.
16 February 1878 – That this House would view with satisfaction the introduction of cremation into England – against.
23 February, 1878 – New cabinet elected: Charles Ernest English (President), A.N. Whitehead (Vice-President), Edward William Bastard (Secretary).
2 March 1878 – That the ancient mode of warfare is superior to the modern – for. Lester Vallis Lester, elected Vice-President in place of A.N. Whitehead, who had resigned.
12 March 1878 – That the character of William III is worthy of our admiration – against.
30 March 1878 – That compulsory service would be beneficial to the country – for. New cabinet elected: Arthur John Galpin (President), Philip Pester Phelps (Vice-President), A.N. Whitehead (Secretary).
6 April 1878 – That in the opinion of this House the resignation of Lord Derby is worthy of our approval – for.
21 September 1878 – That the annexation of Cyprus is beneficial to England – against.
19 October 1878 – That James I of England is unworthy of our admiration – against.
26 October 1878 – That an Advocate is justified in defending a Client whom he knows to be guilty – against. New cabinet elected: A.N. Whitehead (President), Henry Broadmead (Vice-President), Henry Stanhope Sloman (Secretary).
2 November 1878 – That the Greeks, as a nation, are superior to the Romans – against.
9 November 1878 – That the conduct of the Indian Government with regard to the Afghan crisis is worthy of our admiration – against.
16 November 1878 – Proposed by A.N. Whitehead – That Public Picture Galleries and Museums ought to be opened on Sundays – for.
23 November 1878 – That the County Franchise ought to be extended – against.
30 November 1878 – That the invitation of William III to England meets with our approval – against.
7 December 1878 – That the character of Warren Hastings is worthy of our highest admiration and esteem – against.
14 December 1878 – Proposed by A.N. Whitehead – That the employment of Indian troops in Europe without previous consent of Parliament is unconstitutional and unnecessary – for.
1 February 1879 – Proposed by A.N. Whitehead – That the character of Cranmer meets with the detestation of this house – for.
8 February 1879 – Proposed by A.N. Whitehead – That the system of Private Schools is superior to that of Public Schools – for.
15 February 1879 – Proposed by A.N. Whitehead – That we ought not to oppose by force of arms the secession of any of our colonies – for. New cabinet elected: Arthur John Galpin (President), A.N. Whitehead (Vice-President), George Mackenzie Lester (Secretary).
22 February 1879 – That the study of English Literature is not sufficiently encouraged in our schools – against.
8 March 1879 – That the system of education pursued at Oxford is superior to that in use at Cambridge – for.
15 March 1879 – That the expulsion of the Ottoman Empire from Europe would be beneficial to the world at large – against.
1 April 1879 – That total abstinence would not be beneficial to the world at large – for.
12 April 1879 – That the conduct of the Government in the South African question meets with the disapproval of this House – for.
26 May 1879 – That the Russian Nihilists meets with the sympathy of this House – for.
25 September 1879 – New cabinet elected: Ralph St John Ainslie (President), A.N. Whitehead (Vice-President), Herbert William Laing (Secretary).
27 September 1879 – That further interference in the affairs of Afghanistan is undesirable – for.
4 October 1879 – That a country life is preferable to a town life – against.
11 October 1879 – A.N. Whitehead proposed – That compulsion in games at Public Schools is inadvisable – for.
18 October 1879 – That Napoleon I is quite worthy of our admiration – against.
8 November 1879 – That the character Henry VIII merits our admiration – for.
15 November 1879 – A.N. Whitehead proposed – That lying under certain circumstances is justifiable – A.N. Whitehead was absent from the debate.
22 November 1879 – That this House would view with pleasure the return of the Liberals to power – for.

On leaving Sherborne in July 1880, Alfred went as a scholar to Trinity College, Cambridge, where in the mathematical tripos of 1883 he was bracketed fourth wrangler. In 1884 he was elected a Fellow of Trinity College.

On 17 December 1891, Alfred’s sister, Shirley Maria Whitehead (1858-1943), was married to his former Sherborne mathematics master, the Rev. John Blanch (1842-1907), who was then housemaster of Harper House. Alfred evidently held the Rev. Blanch in high esteem and in 1898 presented him with a copy of his Treatise on Universal Algebra with Applications, which he inscribed, ‘John Blanch from his pupil The Author, Feb.21.1898’.

During his lifetime, Alfred was acknowledged as one of the greatest philosophers of his age and received many distinctions. His Treatise on Universal Algebra, with Applications (1898) extended Boolean symbolic logic and led to his election as Fellow of the Royal Society in 1903. He collaborated with Bertrand Russell on Principia Mathematica (1910-1913), and from 1914 to 1924 held the post of Professor of Applied Mathematics at Imperial College. From 1924 until his retirement in 1937 Whitehead held a professorship in the department of philosophy at Harvard University.

In 1925, Alfred delivered the Lowell Lectures, later published as Science and the Modern World, a copy of which was borrowed from Sherborne School library in February 1929 by the 17-year-old Alan Turing (see Alan Turing’s reading at Sherborne School).

During his lifetime Alfred received many awards: in 1922 he was the first recipient of the James Scott prize of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; in 1925 he received the Sylvester medal of the Royal Society; in 1930 he was awarded the Butler medal of Columbia University; in 1931 he was made a Fellow of the British Academy; and in 1945 he was appointed to the Order of Merit.

Alfred North Whitehead died at Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 30 December 1947. He was cremated and his ashes scattered at Harvard Memorial Church.

Rachel Hassall
School Archivist

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