William Georger Horner - Zoetrope

William George Horner

William George Horner (9 June 1786 – 22 September 1837) was a British mathematician; he was a schoolmaster, headmaster and school-keeper, proficient in classics as well as mathematics, who wrote extensively on functional equations, number theory and approximation theory, but also on optics. His contribution to approximation theory is honoured in the designation Horner's method, in particular respect of a paper in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London for 1819. The modern invention of the Zoetrope, under the name Daedaleum ( meaning Wheel of the devil) in 1834, has been attributed to him.

The eldest son of the Rev. William Horner, a Wesleyan minister, was born in Bristol. He was educated at Kingswood School, a Wesleyan foundation near Bristol, and at the age of sixteen became an assistant master there. In four years he rose to be headmaster (1806), but left in 1809, setting up his own school, The Classical Seminary, at Grosvenor Place, Bath, which he kept until he died there 22 September 1837. He and his wife Sarah (1787?–1864) had six daughters and two sons. One of the sons, another William Horner, continued to run the school. He, too, had a large family; the youngest were twins, Charles and Francis John Horner (1852–1887). Francis Horner matriculated at St. John's College, Cambridge in 1872, taking out a BA in 1876 and an MA in 1883. He became a lecturer in mathematics at the University in Sydney, where he died after only a few years - he had been advised to try a change of climate on account of tuberculosis.

Horner had an incredibly success career, writing extensively on a broad range of mathematic theories, (one of which has become a mathematical standard known as the 'Horner Method' referring to an algebraic equation) he also however like Joseph Plateau he was very intrigued in imagery, and more specifically optics, which he had wrote several successful theories. This could have been seen as the start to his journey on creating one of the founding devices which was the basis to modern day animation. He was a regular writer in the 'Philosophical Magazine' on optics and theories relating to illusions.

Some of his most successful pieces of work however were:

• Horner's Method
• A Tribute of a friend - a very moving poem
• Natural Magic - a leaflet on optics

Horner is often thought to be the inventor of the Zoetrope however, this is infact incorrect the most primitive form of the zoetrope was created in 180AD in China however it is Horner that 'reinvented' the device modernising it and bringing it back into the spot light.

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