John Wilson

John Wilson

Born: 6 Aug 1741 in Applethwaite, Westmoreland, England
Died: 18 Oct 1793 in Kendal, Westmoreland, England

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John Wilson is best known for Wilson's theorem which states that

if p is prime then 1+(p-1)! is divisible by p


This result was first published by Waring, without proof, and attributed to Wilson. Leibniz appears to have known the result. It was first proved by Lagrange in 1773 who showed that the converse is true, namely

if n divides 1+(n-1)! then n is prime.

Almost certainly Wilson's theorem was a guess and Waring didn't know how to prove it.

References:

  1. Dictionary of Scientific Biography
  2. John Wilson, Dictionary of National Biography XXI, 578. 
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JOC/EFR February 1996