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E T Davies came from a family of Welsh farmers. He entered the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth in 1921. He graduated in 1926 and spent a number of years working on the Continent of Europe.
His first visit was to Rome where he studied under Levi-Civita. He spent two years in Rome before moving to his next European capital Paris. In Paris he spent time at the Sorbonne and at the Collège de France where he was greatly influenced by Cartan.
In 1930 Davies returned from the Continent to take up a post at King's College, part of the University of London. His first appointment there was as a Lecturer but he was later promoted to Reader [1]:-
His steady stream of publications is testimonial to his authority in the fields of Riemannian geometry and the calculus of variations. His Celtic fluency and enthusiasm, together with his fertility of ideas, surrounded him with research students, in whom he took a keen and friendly interest.
The University of Southampton offered Davies the chair of mathematics in 1946 and, after accepting, he spent the rest of his career there until his retirement in 1969 at the age of 65 [1]:-
Research flourished under his guidance and the department's growth from a staff of six to a multi-professorial one of more than sixty was accomplished with typical zeal.
Retirement did not mean an end to mathematical research for Davies for, after he retired, he went to Canada to spend two years as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Calgary. In 1971 Davies, remaining in Canada, took up an appointment as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo.
Davies was an editor of Aequationes Mathematicae and, on his death, his fellow editors, writing in [6], described him as:-
... a mathematician of great breadth. His steady stream of publications in differential geometry and the calculus of variations attests to his authority in this field.
Davies had many interests outside mathematics. He was a linguist who, again quoting [6]:-
... was fluent in five languages and delighted in the friendship of people from all walks of life in countries throughout the world. He had a passionate regard for the Welsh culture and his Celtic enthusiasm and fine spirit endeared him to us all.
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
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List of References (7 books/articles)
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| Mathematicians born in the same country
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Additional Material in MacTutor
| Honours awarded to E T Davies (Click below for those honoured in this way) | |
| British Mathematical Colloquium plenary speaker | 1960 |
