Peter Guthrie Tait

Peter Guthrie Tait
Black and white photograph of the Scottish physicist Peter Tait, seated with a book in his hands
Photograph of Tait in 1870, with signature
Born(1831-04-28)28 April 1831
Dalkeith, Scotland
Died4 July 1901(1901-07-04) (aged 70)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Alma mater
Known for
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsMathematical physics
Institutions
Academic advisorsWilliam Hopkins

Peter Guthrie Tait FRSE (28 April 1831 – 4 July 1901) was a Scottish mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook Treatise on Natural Philosophy, which he co-wrote with Lord Kelvin, and his early investigations into knot theory.

His work on knot theory contributed to the eventual formation of topology as a mathematical discipline. His name is known in graph theory mainly for Tait's conjecture on cubic graphs. He is also one of the namesakes of the Tait–Kneser theorem on osculating circles.