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Thomas Simpson was born in Leicestershire, England on August 20, 1710. Simpson's first job was as a weaver, the chosen profession of his father. However, he gave up weaving to pursue a study of mathematics. He improved his own mathematical skills through hard work and effort. By 1735, Simpson was able to solve several questions that involved infinitesimal calculus. In 1743, he was appointed Professor of Mathematics at Woolwich in London (which he held until his death).
Simpson is best known for his work on numerical methods of integration, probability theory, and interpolation. He worked on the "Theory of Errors" and aimed to prove that the arithmetic mean was better than a single observation. He also taught privately and wrote several textbooks on mathematics.
Links:
http://archives.math.utk.edu/visual.calculus/4/simpson.4/
http://www.np.edu.sg/~bms/Integrat/6_Simp.htm
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