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3 unusual facts about Thomas Simpson


Alfred Weber

As for the Weber triangle problem, which is a generalization of the Fermat triangle problem, it was first formulated by Thomas Simpson in 1750, and popularized by Alfred Weber in 1909.

Thomas Simpson

In the context of disputes surrounding methods advanced by René Descartes, Pierre de Fermat proposed the challenge to find a point D such that the sum of the distances to three given points, A, B and C is least, a challenge popularised in Italy by Marin Mersenne in the early 1640s.

Long before Von Thünen’s contributions, which go back to 1818, the Fermat point problem can be seen as the very beginning of space economy.



see also

Thomas Wallace, 1st Baron Wallace

Wallace was the son of James Wallace (1729–1783), a barrister who served as Solicitor General for England and Wales and as Attorney General, by Elizabeth, only daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Simpson, Esquire, of Carleton Hall, Cumberland.