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General Information

Other name(s): Brougham Bridge
Status: in use

Project Type

Structure: Elliptical arch bridge
Function / usage: Road bridge

Location

Location: ,
Address: Broombridge Road
Coordinates: 53° 22' 22.46" N    6° 17' 59.71" W
Show coordinates on a map

Technical Information

There currently is no technical data available.

Chronology

16 October 1843

Sir William Rowan Hamilton first writes down the fundamental formula for quaternions while on the bridge.

Notes

A commemorative plaque on the bridge reads: "Here as he walked by
on 16 October 1843
Sir William Rowan Hamilton
in a flash of genius discovered
the fundamental formula for
quaternion multiplication
i² = j² = k² = ijk = -1
& cut it on a stone of this bridge."

Excerpt from Wikipedia

Broom Bridge (Irish: Droichead Broome), also called Broome Bridge, and sometimes Brougham Bridge, is a bridge along Broombridge Road which crosses the Royal Canal in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland. Broome Bridge is named after William Broome, one of the directors of the Royal Canal company who lived nearby. It is famous for being the location where Sir William Rowan Hamilton first wrote down the fundamental formula for quaternions on 16 October 1843, which is to this day commemorated by a stone plaque on the northwest corner of the underside of the bridge. After being spoiled by the action of vandals and some visitors, the plaque was moved to a different place, higher, under the railing of the bridge.

The text on the plaque reads:

Here as he walked by on the 16th of October 1843 Sir William Rowan Hamilton in a flash of genius discovered the fundamental formula for quaternion multiplication i² = j² = k² = ijk = −1 & cut it on a stone of this bridge.

Given the historical importance of the bridge with respect to mathematics, mathematicians from all over the world have been known to take part in the annual commemorative walk from Dunsink Observatory to the site. Attendees have included Nobel Prize winners Murray Gell-Mann, Steven Weinberg and Frank Wilczek, and mathematicians Sir Andrew Wiles, Sir Roger Penrose and Ingrid Daubechies. The 16 October is sometimes referred to as Broomsday (in reference to Broome Bridge) and as a nod to the literary commemorations on 16 June (Bloomsday in honour of James Joyce).

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Broom Bridge" and modified on July 23, 2019 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.

Participants

Currently there is no information available about persons or companies having participated in this project.

Relevant Web Sites

  • About this
    data sheet
  • Structure-ID
    20027345
  • Published on:
    08/03/2007
  • Last updated on:
    05/02/2016
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