Francis Maseres
Born: 15 Dec 1731 in London, England
Died: 19 May 1824 in Reigate, Surrey, England
Francis Maseres graduated from Clare College Cambridge in 1752 with a degree in classics and mathematics. He practiced law for a few years without much success, then served as Attorny General for Quebec until 1769.
After returning to England he was appointed Cursitor Baron of the Exchequer and held this office until his death at the age of 93.
Maseres wrote many mathematical works which show a complete lack of creative ability. He rejected negative numbers and that part of algebra which is not arithmetic, despite writing 150 years after Vičte and Harriot. It is probable that Maseres rejected all mathematics which he could not understand. He writes:-
If any single quantity is marked either with the sign + or the sign - without affecting some other quantity, the mark will have no meaning or significance, thus if it be said that the square of -5, or the product of -5 into -5, is equal to +25, such an assertion must either signify no more than 5 times 5 is equal to 25 without any regard for the signs, or it must be mere nonsense or unintelligible jargon.
Maseres had an unfortunate influence on the teaching of algebra in Britain for several decades. An example of this is seen in the algebra text of Nicolas Vilant, Regius Professor at St Andrews from 1765 to 1807.