William Rowan Hamilton is more numerically stable than combining many matrix transformations. In control and modelling applications, quaternions do not have a computational singularity (undefined division by zero) that can occur for quarter-turn rotations (90 degrees) that are achievable by many Air, Sea and Space vehicles. In pure mathematics, quaternions show up significantly as one of the four finite-dimensional normed division algebras over the real numbers, with applications throughout algebra and geometry. It is believed by some modern mathematicians that Hamilton's work on quaternions was satirized by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in Alice in Wonderland. In particular, the Mad Hatter's tea party was meant
John Charlesworth Dodgson-Charlesworth John Charlesworth Dodgson-Charlesworth John Charlesworth Dodgson-Charlesworth (1815–1880) was a British colliery owner and Member of Parliament for Wakefield between 1857 and 1859. Defeated by his Liberal opponent, William Henry Leatham at the 1859 general election both he and Leatham were subsequently found to have conducted extensive bribery during the campaign. Dodgson-Charlesworth was the son of John Dodgson Charlesworth of Chapelthorpe, Sandal, Wakefield. Baptised 20 August 1815, he was educated at Sedbergh School and St John's College, Cambridge, graduating from St John's with a BA in 1837 and an MA in 1840. In the 1841 census he is described as a