Abstract. William Kingdon Clifford was an English mathematician and philosopher who worked extensively in many branches of pure mathematics and classical mechanics. Although he died young, he left a deep and long-lasting legacy, particularly in geometry. One of the main achievements that he is remembered for is his pioneering work on integrating Hamilton's Elements of Quaternions with Grassmann's Theory of Extension into a more general coherent corpus, now referred to eponymously as Clifford algebras. These geometric algebras are utilised in engineering mechanics (especially in robotics) as well as in mathematical physics (especially in quantum mechanics) for representing spatial relationships, motions, and dynamics within systems of particles and rigid bodies. Clifford's study of geometric algebras in both Euclidean and non-Euclidean spaces led to his invention of the biquaternion, now used as an efficient representation for twists and wrenches in the same context as that of Ball's Theory of Screws.
Biographical NotesWilliam Kingdon Clifford was a 19th Century English mathematician and scientific philosopher who, though he lived a short life, produced major contributions in many areas of mathematics, mechanics, physics and philosophy. This he achieved during a mere fifteen-year professional career. He was the archetypal polymath, since as well as displaying remarkable mathematical skills, he was also an accomplished literature and classics scholar. Clifford was fluent in reading French, German and Spanish, as he considered these to be important for his mathematical work. He learned Greek, Arabic and Sanskrit for the challenge they presented, Egyptian hieroglyphics as an intellectual exercise, and Morse code and shorthand, because he wished to understand as many forms for communicating ideas as possible. During his lifetime Clifford was energetic and influential in championing the scientific method in