A photograph of George Green? A case study in historical misconception

George Green (1793–1841) was a miller and mathematician from Nottingham who developed revolutionary theories in mathematical physics. It is possible to find online a photograph of Green. No such picture exists. The picture being used is in fact of George Barnard Green (1822–1863) of Wisconsin, a wagon maker and US Civil War soldier. The evidence for these claims is presented, and the reasons for the spreading of historical inaccuracies are considered in relation to this case.

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Publication Details

Journal
British Journal for the History of Mathematics
Published
2025-05-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/26375451.2025.2517491
Primary Topic
Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

A photograph of George Green? A case study in historical misconception

Peter Rowlett
British Journal for the History of Mathematics
Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy
article

A photograph of George Green? A case study in historical misconception

Peter Rowlett
article en

Abstract

George Green (1793–1841) was a miller and mathematician from Nottingham who developed revolutionary theories in mathematical physics. It is possible to find online a photograph of Green. No such picture exists. The picture being used is in fact of George Barnard Green (1822–1863) of Wisconsin, a wagon maker and US Civil War soldier. The evidence for these claims is presented, and the reasons for the spreading of historical inaccuracies are considered in relation to this case.

British Journal for the History of MathematicsVol. 40(2)
Sheffield Hallam University (GB)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 79%
Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy
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