The Emergence of the American Mathematical Research Community, 1876-1900

by Karen Hunger Parshall, David E. Rowe

1994 · American Mathematical Soc.

This volume traces the transformation of the United States from a mathematical backwater to a major presence during the quarter-century from 1876 to 1900. Presenting a detailed study of the major figures involved in this transformation, it focuses on the three most influential individuals - the British algebraist James Joseph Sylvester, the German standard-bearer Felix Klein, and the American mathematician Eliakim Hastings Moore - and on the principal institutions with which they were associated - the Johns Hopkins University, Gottingen University, and the University of Chicago. This book further analyzes the research traditions these men and their institutions represented, the impact they had on the second generation of American mathematical researchers, and the role of the American Mathematical Society in these developments.This is the first work ever written on the history of American mathematics during this period and one of the few books that examines the historical development of American mathematics from a wide perspective. By placing the development of American mathematics within the context of broader external factors affecting historical events, the authors show how the character of American research was decisively affected by the surrounding scientific, educational, and social contexts of the period. Aimed at a general mathematical audience and at historians of science, this book contains an abundance of unpublished archival material, numerous rare photographs, and an extensive bibliography.

A Richer Picture of Mathematics

by David E. Rowe

2018 · Springer

Historian David E. Rowe captures the rich tapestry of mathematical creativity in this collection of essays from the “Years Ago” column of The Mathematical Intelligencer. With topics ranging from ancient Greek mathematics to modern relativistic cosmology, this collection conveys the impetus and spirit of Rowe’s various and many-faceted contributions to the history of mathematics. Centered on the Göttingen mathematical tradition, these stories illuminate important facets of mathematical activity often overlooked in other accounts. Six sections place the essays in chronological and thematic order, beginning with new introductions that contextualize each section. The essays that follow recount episodes relating to the section’s overall theme. All of the essays in this collection, with the exception of two, appeared over the course of more than 30 years in The Mathematical Intelligencer. Based largely on archival and primary sources, these vignettes offer unusual insights into behind-the-scenes events. Taken together, they aim to show how Göttingen managed to attract an extraordinary array of talented individuals, several of whom contributed to the development of a new mathematical culture during the first decades of the twentieth century.

A History of Mathematics in the United States and Canada

by David E. Zitarelli

2022 · American Mathematical Society

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.