George Salmon

Free to visit

George Salmon was professor of mathematics for many years as well as a Church of Ireland rector. He was provost of Ireland’s oldest university, Trinity College Dublin, during its tri-centenary celebrations in 1892.

Mathematician, theologian and avid chess player, George Salmon entered Trinity College Dublin in 1833 as the 14 year old son of a shopkeeper, rising to become its Provost in 1888. After becoming a mathematics lecturer at 21 and writing several key works in algebraic geometry - which remained standard textbooks for decades - Salmon, who was also an ordained Church of Ireland priest, turned his attentions to theology, and was appointed Regius Professor of Divinity in 1866. An enthusiastic patron of the University Chess Club, he often used chess metaphors in his theological writings.

George Salmon's life-size statue, carved from Galway marble, was created in 1911 by Dublin born artist John Hughes, one of the most celebrated sculptors of his day. The statue has been displayed in several locations around the university, and now stands near the library, allowing Salmon to look out onto generations of students coming and going across College Green.

While at Trinity College, consider a guided tour of the campus grounds, which includes the Book of Kells and Trinity Library and some other hidden gems you might otherwise miss. Or just wander on your own and enjoy the 400 year old atmosphere.