Kempe was taught mathematics by Cayley and graduated in 1872 with distinction in mathematics and in the same year he published his first mathematical paper A general method of solving equations of the nth degree by mechanical means.
Kempe ay tinuturuan sa pamamagitan ng matematika at nagtapos Cayley sa 1872 na may pagkakaiba sa matematika at sa parehong taon siya nai-publish na ang kanyang unang matematiko ng papel sa isang pangkalahatang paraan ng solving equation ng nth degree sa pamamagitan ng makina ibig sabihin nito.