the death of his predecessor, George Chrystal in 1911. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1912, after being nominated by Cargill Gilston Knott, Ralph Allan Sampson, James Gordon MacGregor and Sir William Turner. He served as Secretary to the Society from 1916 to 1922, the Vice President from 1925 to 1928 and 1937 to 1939, and was President of the Society from 1939 to 1944, through the war years. Whittaker began holding "research lectures" in mathematics at the University, typically given twice a week. He was said to be a great lecturer by one of his previous attendees, who stated that his "clear diction, his felicity of language and his enthusiasm could not fail to evoke a response" and that he was very good with illustrations. Freeman Dyson commented on Whittaker's lecture style by saying that students were "warmed, not only by the physical presence of a big crowd packed together, but by the mental vigour and enthusiasm of the old man". Whittaker's efforts helped transform the Edinburgh Mathematical Society from a teachers society to an academic research society and was a major driving force in introducing computational mathematics education to the UK and America. Shortly after coming to Edinburgh, Whittaker established the Edinburgh Mathematical Laboratory, one of the UK's first mathematical laboratories. The laboratory was the first attempt of a systematic treatment of numerical analysis in Great Britain and friends of Whittaker have said he believes it his most notable contribution to the education of mathematics. Subjects taught at the laboratory included interpolation, the method of least squares, systems of linear equations, determinants, roots of transcendental equations, practical Fourier analysis, definite integrals, and numerical solution of differential equations. The laboratory program was so successful, it resulted in many requests for an extra summer course to allow others to attend who previously were unable, ultimately leading to the establishment of a colloquium through the Edinburgh Mathematical Society. In 1913, Whittaker established the Edinburgh Mathematical Society Colloquium and the first was held over five days in August of that year. The textbook The calculus of observations was compiled from courses given at the Laboratory over a ten-year period; the book was well received and ultimately went through four editions. Fellowships and academic positions Outside of the Royal Astronomer of Ireland and his roles in the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Whittaker held several notable academic