Benjamin Robins (1707 – 29 July 1751) was a pioneering British scientist,Newtonian mathematician, and military engineer.
He wrote an influential treatise on gunnery, for the first time introducing Newtonian science to military men, was an early enthusiast forrifled gun barrels, and his work had substantive influence on the development of artillery during the latter half of the eighteenth century – and directly stimulated the teaching of calculus in military academies.
Benjamin Robins was born inBath.[1] His parents wereQuakers in poor circumstances, and as a result, he received very little formal education.[1] Having come to London on the advice of Dr.Henry Pemberton (1694–1771), who had recognised Robins's talents,[1] for a time he maintained himself by teachingmathematics, but soon devoted himself to engineering and the study of fortification.[2]
In particular he carried out an extensive series of experiments in gunnery, embodying his results in his famous treatise onNew Principles of Gunnery (1742),[3] which contains a description of hisballistic pendulum (seechronograph).[2]
Robins also made a number of important experiments on the resistance of the air to the motion of projectiles,[4][5][6] and on the force ofgunpowder, with computation of the velocities thereby communicated to projectiles. He compared the results of his theory with experimental determinations of the ranges of mortars and cannon, and gave practical maxims for the management ofartillery. He also made observations on the flight ofrockets, and wrote on the advantages of rifled gun barrels. His work on gunnery was translated into German byLeonhard Euler, who added a critical commentary of his own.[2] However, the work of Robins still served as an important piece of technical information that helped the later advancement of the Prussian artillery, especially of its improvement in accuracy, a big step forwards that the book turned out to be a shot in the arm of the ambitiousFrederick the Great who determined to vault the status and power of Prussian artillery to the top among other European armies.
Of less interest nowadays are Robins's more purely mathematical writings, such as hisDiscourse concerning the Nature and Certainty of SirIsaac Newton's Methods of Fluxions and of Prime and Ultimate Ratios (1735),A Demonstration of the Eleventh Proposition of Sir Isaac Newton's Treatise of Quadratures (Phil. Trans., 1727),[7] and similar works.[2]
Besides his scientific labours, Robins took an active part in politics. He wrote pamphlets in support of the opposition to SirRobert Walpole, and was secretary of a committee appointed by theHouse of Commons to enquire into the conduct of that minister. He also wrote a preface to theReport on the Proceedings of the Board of General Officers on their Examination into the Conduct of Lieutenant-GeneralSir John Cope, in which he gave an apology for thebattle of Prestonpans.[2]
In 1749, he was appointed engineer general to theEast India Company, and went out to superintend the reconstruction of theirforts. However, his health soon failed, and he died atFort St David in India. His works were published in two volumes in 1761.[2]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Robins, Benjamin".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 422.English military Engineer and mathematician Benjamin Robins (1707–1751) invented a whirling arm apparatus to determine drag and did some of the first experiments in aviation theory.
