Physicist, born in Norwich, Norfolk, E England, UK. His New Mathematical Tables (1814) were reprinted as late as 1947 as Barlow's Tables. He also worked on the strength of ship's timbers, on tidal engineering, and on ship's magnetism and its correction. The Barlow lens is an achromatic lens used as an astronomical eyepiece and in photography.
Peter Barlow (October 1776—March 1, 1862) was an English writer on pure and applied mathematics.
Only the month and year of Barlow's birth in Norwich have been recorded for posterity.
His sons Peter W. Barlow and William Henry Barlow became notable civil engineers of the 19th century.
He received many distinctions from British and foreign scientific societies.
Barlow's investigations on magnetism led to the important practical discovery of a means of rectifying or compensating compass errors in ships.
Peter Barlow also made several contributions to the theory of strength of materials, including Essay on the strength and stress of timber (1817) and Treatise on the strength of materials. The sixth edition (1867) of the former was prepared by Barlow's two sons after his death and contains a biography of their father.
See also: Barlow's Wheel, Barlow lens
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