mathematics

Margaret Grimshaw

Margaret Grimshaw is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Margaret Grimshaw rather than just read about it. In short: Margaret Eleanor Grimshaw (1905–1990) was a mathematician and academic at the University of Cambridge. Early life Margaret Eleanor Grimshaw was born on 17 January 1905 in Elland, Yorkshire.

Key takeaways

Margaret Grimshaw belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Margaret Grimshaw to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Margaret Grimshaw from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Margaret Eleanor Grimshaw (1905–1990) was a mathematician and academic at the University of Cambridge.

Early life Margaret Eleanor Grimshaw was born on 17 January 1905 in Elland, Yorkshire. Her parents were school teachers, with her father being headmaster at Southowram School in Halifax in 1918. Grimshaw attended Barnsley High School and Halifax Girls Secondary School. She took her B.A First Class in 1926 from Newnham College, the University of Cambridge. She continued with her research after graduation, residing in the Kennedy Building staff accommodation for much of her life. She had an opportunity to work with a number of Fellows as they moved through Cambridge, including Jean Mitchell, Edith Whetham, Joyce Salt, Dorothy Hill and many others. Grimshaw was Mary Ewart Scholar 1924–1926, Arthur Clough Scholar 1926–1927 and Marion Kennedy Residential Student from 1927 to 1928. She took her M.A. in 1930.

Career Grimshaw was Assistant Lecturer in Mathematics from 1928 to 1930 and Associates Resident Fellow 1930–1933. She worked as a tutor at University of Göttingen and temporary tutor at Oxford University from 1933 to 1934, before joining the staff of Cambridge as a lecturer. This appointment lasted from 1934 to 1958. She was Director of Studies in Mathematics from 1936 to 1958. Her work was in pure mathematics, in particular analysis. Early papers were on integration theory, Fourier series and transforms. She wrote a textbook with Hans Hamburger in 1951, Linear Transformations in n-Dimensional Vector Space. An Introduction to the Theory of Hilbert Space. She published in mathematics journals. Grimshaw was on the Council of Newnham College from 1936 to 1968. She was Vice Principal from 1953 until 1958, when she became Bursar of Newnham College. At this time she stepped away from teaching duties. Her fulfilled the Bursar role until 1968. She maintained the Newnham Roll or register of the students who had graduated from the College from 1971 to 1980. Grimshaw died in 1990 in Cambridge.

Legacy Grimshaw bequeathed to Cambridge a large number of school prizes and medals, which she had collected in her lifetime. They are held by the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Margaret Grimshaw

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Margaret Grimshaw claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Margaret Grimshaw before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Margaret Grimshaw ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Margaret Grimshaw

In research: Margaret Grimshaw appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Margaret Grimshaw in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Margaret Grimshaw is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1905 births, 1990 deaths, Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Margaret Grimshaw outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Margaret Grimshaw in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Margaret Grimshaw means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Margaret Grimshaw out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Margaret Grimshaw in simple terms?

Margaret Eleanor Grimshaw (1905–1990) was a mathematician and academic at the University of Cambridge. Early life Margaret Eleanor Grimshaw was born on 17 January 1905 in Elland, Yorkshire.

Why does Margaret Grimshaw matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Margaret Grimshaw?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Margaret Grimshaw.