Another fellow student and friend of Tait's was William Steele who was in the same year as Tait and graduated as Second Wrangler. Tait won a Fellowship at Peterhouse and, in addition to coaching undergraduates for the Tripos, he began to collaborate with Steele in writing a text Dynamics of a particle.
Isa pang kapwa mag-aaral at kaibigan ng Tait's ay William Steele na sa parehong taon bilang Tait at nagtapos bilang Ikalawang Wrangler. Tait napanalunan ng isang Fellowship sa Peterhouse at, bilang karagdagan sa Pagtuturo para sa undergraduates ang Tripos, siya ay nagsimulang makipagtulungan sa Steele sa pagsusulat ng teksto ng dinamika ng isang particle.