James Devereux Hustler

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James Devereux Hustler (1784–1849) was an English clergyman, academic, and mathematician who became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1819.

He came from Bury St Edmunds, the son of Thomas and Ann Hustler; his father was a grocer on Abbeygate Street. He had brothers who also achieved noted positions. Hustler was educated at the King Edward VI Free School in Bury St Edmunds, where he became friends with Charles Blomfield, who would later become Bishop of London.

Hustler began his university studies at Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1801, then moved to Trinity College in 1802. He did well in the exams, finishing as third Wrangler in 1806 and earning a BA, and he became a Fellow of Trinity in 1807. A memorable episode from this period was a five-hour conversation in his rooms between the then-undergraduate Thomas Smart Hughes and the drunken scholar Richard Porson.

He received his MA in 1809 and his BD in 1816. In 1813 he served as domestic chaplain to Henry Gage, 4th Viscount Gage, and also became tutor to the younger Spencer Perceval. Hustler worked as an assistant tutor at Trinity from 1811 to 1813 and then as a full tutor from 1813 to 1823.

During his time as a tutor, Cambridge was undergoing an “analytical revolution” in calculus, with Leibniz notation being introduced alongside Newton’s methods. Hustler played a role in guiding the young George Airy, steering him toward Trinity rather than Peterhouse. He helped Airy advance through the university: arranging an exhibition in 1820, and with tutor George Peacock, providing special instruction in calculus. Airy was encouraged to explore new ideas, though Hustler sometimes disagreed with linking new concepts to certain diagrams. In 1822 Hustler helped Airy and his peers move ahead in the Mathematical Tripos, despite resistance from some senior students.

Hustler’s clerical career began in 1823 with a curacy at Fornham All Saints. In 1828 he was presented to the rectory of Great Fakenham by the Duke of Grafton, and in 1829 to the living of Euston, Suffolk. He was generous to his parishes, giving a paten to Fornham All Saints and an organ for St John’s Church in Bury St Edmunds (built 1840–41).

In 1823 he married Elizabeth Mansel, daughter of William Lort Mansel. They had children, and portraits of their children were painted in 1833 by Samuel Lane. Hustler’s contributions as a teacher and his support for Cambridge mathematics left a lasting impression on the university and its students. He died in 1849.