Editing Colin Maclaurin (section)

{{Short description|Scottish mathematician (1698 – 1746)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Colin Maclaurin
| image             = Colin Maclaurin (Buchan-Ferguson).jpg
| caption           = Drawing by [[David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan|David Steuart Erskine]] {{circa}} 1795, from a portrait by [[James Ferguson (Scottish astronomer)|James Ferguson]]
| birth_date        = February 1698
| birth_place       = [[Kilmodan]], [[Cowal]], [[Argyll]], [[Scotland]]
| death_date        = 14 June 1746 (aged 48)
| death_place       = [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]]
| citizenship       = [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
| nationality       = Scottish
| fields            = [[Mathematician]]
| workplaces        = [[Marischal College]], [[University of Aberdeen]]<br />[[University of Edinburgh]]
| alma_mater        = [[University of Glasgow]]
| doctoral_advisor  = 
| academic_advisors = [[Robert Simson]]
| doctoral_students = 
| notable_students  = [[Robert Adam]]
| known_for         = [[Euler–Maclaurin formula]]<br>[[Maclaurin's inequality]]<br>[[Maclaurin series]]<br>[[Maclaurin spheroid]]<br>[[Maclaurin–Cauchy test]]<br>[[Braikenridge–Maclaurin theorem]]<br>[[Trisectrix of Maclaurin]]
| influences        = 
| influenced        = 
| awards            = Grand Prize of the [[French Academy of Sciences]]
| signature         = 
| footnotes         = 
}}

'''Colin Maclaurin''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|k|l|ɔː|r|ə|n}}; {{langx|gd|Cailean MacLabhruinn}};{{pronunciation needed|date=September 2024}} February 1698&nbsp;– 14 June 1746)<ref>http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/Extras/Turnbull_Maclaurin_1.html Turnbull lectures on Colin Maclaurin (4 February 1947), Part I</ref> was a Scottish [[mathematician]] who made important contributions to [[geometry]] and [[algebra]].<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Maclaurin, Colin}}</ref> He is also known for being a [[child prodigy]] and holding the record for being the youngest professor. The Maclaurin series, a special case of the [[Taylor series]], is named after him.

Owing to changes in [[orthography]] since that time (his name was originally rendered as '''M'Laurine'''<ref>[http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Extras/Maclaurin_EMS_notes.html "Colin Maclaurin: A Biographical Note" by Robin Schlapp (6 December 1946)]. (Note that the quotation in [http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/Extras/Turnbull_Maclaurin_1.html] has been altered.)</ref>), his surname is alternatively written '''MacLaurin.'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.m-a.org.uk/docs/library/2064.pdf |access-date=20 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229073702/http://www.m-a.org.uk/docs/library/2064.pdf |archive-date=29 February 2008 |title=The prickly genius –  Colin MacLaurin (1698–1746)}}</ref>