Cover -- Title page -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Photograph and Figure Credits -- Chapter 1. An overview of American mathematics: 1776-1876 -- Chapter 2. A new departmental prototype: J.J. Sylvester and the Johns Hopkins University -- Chapter 3. Mathematics at Sylvester's Hopkins -- Chapter 4. German mathematics and the early mathematical career of Felix Klein -- Chapter 5. America's wanderlust generation -- Chapter 6. Changes on the horizon -- Chapter 7. The World's Columbian exposition of 1893 and the Chicago mathematical congress -- Chapter 8. Surveying mathematical landscapes: The Evanston colloquium lectures -- Chapter 9. Meeting the challenge: The University of Chicago and the American mathematical research community -- Chapter 10. Epilogue: Beyond the threshold: The American mathematical research community, 1900-1933 -- Bibliography -- Subject Index -- Back Cover
This is the first truly comprehensive and thorough history of the development of mathematics and a mathematical community in the United States and Canada. This first volume of the multi-volume work takes the reader from the European encounters with North America in the fifteenth century up to the emergence of a research community the United States in the last quarter of the nineteenth. In the story of the colonial period, particular emphasis is given to several prominent colonial figures—Jefferson, Franklin, and Rittenhouse—and four important early colleges—Harvard, Québec, William & Mary, and Yale. During the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century, mathematics in North America was largely the occupation of scattered individual pioneers: Bowditch, Farrar, Adrain, B. Peirce. This period is given a fuller treatment here than previously in the literature, including the creation of the first PhD programs and attempts to form organizations and found journals. With the founding of Johns Hopkins in 1876 the American mathematical research community was finally, and firmly, founded. The programs at Hopkins, Chicago, and Clark are detailed as are the influence of major European mathematicians including especially Klein, Hilbert, and Sylvester. Klein's visit to the US and his Evanston Colloquium are extensively detailed. The founding of the American Mathematical Society is thoroughly discussed. David Zitarelli was emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Temple University. A decorated and acclaimed teacher, scholar, and expositor, he was one of the world's leading experts on the development of American mathematics. Author or co-author of over a dozen books, this was his magnum opus—sure to become the leading reference on the topic and essential reading, not just for historians. In clear and compelling prose Zitarelli spins a tale accessible to experts, generalists, and anyone interested in the history of science in North America.
Although today's mathematical research community takes its international character very much for granted, this ``global nature'' is relatively recent, having evolved over a period of roughly 150 years-from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century. During this time, the practice of mathematics changed from being centered on a collection of disparate national communities to being characterized by an international group of scholars for whom thegoal of mathematical research and cooperation transcended national boundaries. Yet, the development of an international community was far from smooth and involved obstacles such as war, political upheaval, and national rivalries. Until now, this evolution has been largely overlooked by historians andmathematicians alike. This book addresses the issue by bringing together essays by twenty experts in the history of mathematics who have investigated the genesis of today's international mathematical community. This includes not only developments within component national mathematical communities, such as the growth of societies and journals, but also more wide-ranging political, philosophical, linguistic, and pedagogical issues. The resulting volume is essential reading for anyone interestedin the history of modern mathematics. It will be of interest to mathematicians, historians of mathematics, and historians of science in general.
This is the first truly comprehensive and thorough history of the development of mathematics and a mathematical community in the United States and Canada. This first volume of the multi-volume work takes the reader from the European encounters with North America in the fifteenth century up to the emergence of a research community the United States in the last quarter of the nineteenth. In the story of the colonial period, particular emphasis is given to several prominent colonial figures—Jefferson, Franklin, and Rittenhouse—and four important early colleges—Harvard, Québec, William & Mary, and Yale. During the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century, mathematics in North America was largely the occupation of scattered individual pioneers: Bowditch, Farrar, Adrain, B. Peirce. This period is given a fuller treatment here than previously in the literature, including the creation of the first PhD programs and attempts to form organizations and found journals. With the founding of Johns Hopkins in 1876 the American mathematical research community was finally, and firmly, founded. The programs at Hopkins, Chicago, and Clark are detailed as are the influence of major European mathematicians including especially Klein, Hilbert, and Sylvester. Klein's visit to the US and his Evanston Colloquium are extensively detailed. The founding of the American Mathematical Society is thoroughly discussed. David Zitarelli is emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Temple University. A decorated and acclaimed teacher, scholar, and expositor, he is one of the world's leading experts on the development of American mathematics. Author or co-author of over a dozen books, this is his magnum opus—sure to become the leading reference on the topic and essential reading, not just for historians. In clear and compelling prose Zitarelli spins a tale accessible to experts, generalists, and anyone interested in the history of science in North America.
This classic history of American mathematics was first published in 1934. “America”, for the authors, is defined as the “territory north of the Caribbean Sea and the Rio Grande River.” This slim volume surveys the mathematics of the early colonial period including the knowledge available for the average colonist; the progress made corresponding to various influxes of population from Italy, France, Germany and Great Britain; the beginnings of mathematical work in colleges and universities and the rapid acceleration in the last quarter of the nineteenth century; the development and growth of a professional infrastructure of societies and publications; and biographical information of particularly significant characters. The book pays special attention to the needs of commerce, exploration, and everyday life that drove the development of mathematics in the centuries before a professionalization of mathematics appeared in the nineteenth century.
This is the first truly comprehensive and thorough history of the development of mathematics and a mathematical community in the United States and Canada. This first volume of the multi-volume work takes the reader from the European encounters with North America in the fifteenth century up to the emergence of a research community the United States in the last quarter of the nineteenth. In the story of the colonial period, particular emphasis is given to several prominent colonial figures--Jefferson, Franklin, and Rittenhouse--and four important early colleges--Harvard, Québec, William & Mary,
This book, a tribute to historian of mathematics Jeremy Gray, offers an overview of the history of mathematics and its inseparable connection to philosophy and other disciplines. Many different approaches to the study of the history of mathematics have been developed. Understanding this diversity is central to learning about these fields, but very few books deal with their richness and concrete suggestions for the “what, why and how” of these domains of inquiry. The editors and authors approach the basic question of what the history of mathematics is by means of concrete examples. For the “how” question, basic methodological issues are addressed, from the different perspectives of mathematicians and historians. Containing essays by leading scholars, this book provides a multitude of perspectives on mathematics, its role in culture and development, and connections with other sciences, making it an important resource for students and academics in the history and philosophy of mathematics.
During the nineteenth century, much of the modern scientific enterprise took shape: scientific disciplines were formed, institutions and communities were founded, and unprecedented applications to and interactions with other aspects of society and culture occurred. In this book, eleven leading historians of science assess what their field has taught us about this exciting time and identify issues that remain unexamined or require reconsideration. They treat both scientific disciplines—biology, physics, chemistry, the earth sciences, mathematics, and the social sciences—in their specific intellectual and sociocultural contexts as well as the broader topics of science and medicine; science and religion; scientific institutions and communities; and science, technology, and industry. Providing a much-needed overview and analysis of a rapidly expanding field, From Natural Philosophy to the Sciences will be essential for historians of science, but also of great interest to scholars of all aspects of nineteenth-century life and culture. Contributors: Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Jed Z. Buchwald, David Cahan, Joseph Dauben, Frederick Gregory, Michael Hagner, Sungook Hong, David R. Oldroyd, Theodore M. Porter, Robert J. Richards, Ulrich Wengenroth
A meticulously researched history on the development of American mathematics in the three decades following World War I As the Roaring Twenties lurched into the Great Depression, to be followed by the scourge of Nazi Germany and World War II, American mathematicians pursued their research, positioned themselves collectively within American science, and rose to global mathematical hegemony. How did they do it? The New Era in American Mathematics, 1920–1950 explores the institutional, financial, social, and political forces that shaped and supported this community in the first half of the twentieth century. In doing so, Karen Hunger Parshall debunks the widely held view that American mathematics only thrived after European émigrés fled to the shores of the United States. Drawing from extensive archival and primary-source research, Parshall uncovers the key players in American mathematics who worked together to effect change and she looks at their research output over the course of three decades. She highlights the educational, professional, philanthropic, and governmental entities that bolstered progress. And she uncovers the strategies implemented by American mathematicians in their quest for the advancement of knowledge. Throughout, she considers how geopolitical circumstances shifted the course of the discipline. Examining how the American mathematical community asserted itself on the international stage, The New Era in American Mathematics, 1920–1950 shows the way one nation became the focal point for the field.
An expanded narrative of the rich, unique history of the University of Chicago. One of the most influential institutions of higher learning in the world, the University of Chicago has a powerful and distinct identity, and its name is synonymous with intellectual rigor. With nearly 170,000 alumni living and working in more than one hundred and fifty countries, its impact is far-reaching and long-lasting. With The University of Chicago: A History, John W. Boyer, Dean of the College from 1992 to 2023, thoroughly engages with the history and the lived politics of the university. Boyer presents a history of a complex academic community, focusing on the nature of its academic culture and curricula, the experience of its students, its engagement with Chicago’s civic community, and the resources and conditions that have enabled the university to sustain itself through decades of change. He has mined the archives, exploring the school’s complex and sometimes controversial past to set myth and hearsay apart from fact. Boyer’s extensive research shows that the University of Chicago’s identity is profoundly interwoven with its history, and that history is unique in the annals of American higher education. After a little-known false start in the mid-nineteenth century, it achieved remarkable early successes, yet in the 1950s it faced a collapse of undergraduate enrollment, which proved fiscally debilitating for decades. Throughout, the university retained its fierce commitment to a distinctive, intense academic culture marked by intellectual merit and free debate, allowing it to rise to international acclaim. Today it maintains a strong obligation to serve the larger community through its connections to alumni, to the city of Chicago, and increasingly to its global community. Boyer’s tale is filled with larger-than-life characters—John D. Rockefeller, Robert Maynard Hutchins, and many other famous figures among them—and episodes that reveal the establishment and rise of today’s institution. Newly updated, this edition extends through the presidency of Robert Zimmer, whose long tenure was marked by significant developments and controversies over subjects as varied as free speech, medical inequity, and community relations.
