Daniel Pedoe
Encyclopedia
Dan Pedoe was an English
-born mathematician
and geometer with a career spanning more than sixty years. In the course of his life he wrote approximately fifty research and expository papers in geometry
. He is also the author of various core books on mathematics and geometry some of which have remained in print for decades and been translated into several languages. These books include the three-volume Methods of Algebraic Geometry
(which he wrote in collaboration with W. V. D. Hodge
), The Gentle Art of Mathematics, Circle
s: A Mathematical View, Geometry and the Visual Arts and most recently Japanese Temple Geometry Problems: San Gaku (with Hidetoshi Fukagawa).
who found himself in London in the 1890s. His father had boarded a cattleboat not knowing whether it was bound for New York or London so his final destination was one of blind chance. Dan Pedoe's mother was the only child of a corn merchant from Łomża (part of Poland under Russian control). "Danny" was the youngest child in a family of some thirteen children and his childhood was spent in relative poverty in the East End of London
. As a schoolboy he attended the Central Foundation Boys' School where he was first influenced in his love of geometry by the headmaster Norman M. Gibbins and a textbook by Godfrey and Siddons. He was successful at the "ten plus" examination and subsequently won a Scholarship to study mathematics at Cambridge University
.
, where he was a scholar, he was tutored in mathematics by Frank P. Ramsey
. In 1935 he took a break from Cambridge and went to Princeton University
where he was made a member of the Institute for Advanced Study
and worked with Lefschetz. His PhD was based on H. F. Baker
's work on the Italian theory
of algebraic surface
s. Hodge and Baker were his PhD examiners at Cambridge.
In 1941 a collaboration with Hodge
started which lasted some twelve years and included the writing of the huge three-volume work, Method of Algebraic Geometry. Although the book was originally designed as a geometric counterpart of G. H. Hardy
's A Course of Pure Mathematics it was never intended as a textbook and contains original material. First published in the 1940s, all three volumes were reprinted by Cambridge University Press
in 1995.
. In 1941, on the request of Winchester College
he was asked to assist with the teaching of mathematics. By this time he had married Mary Tunstall, an English geographer and in addition to a young daughter Naomi had identical twin sons, Dan and Hugh. He taught a number of classes and in the top class one of the students was the twelve-year-old Freeman Dyson
who showed enormous early talent and was strongly encouraged by Dan Pedoe with extra work and reading. Their friendship lasted more than fifty more years until Dan Pedoe's death in 1998 and Freeman Dyson's list of people who have most influenced him begins "Hardy, Pedoe...".
and taught at the University of Birmingham
until 1946. Most of the work was in engineering mathematics. During this period he was enlisted in the war effort to improve piston rings with the goal of emulating the dive-bombing
tactics of the Nazis.
in the University of London
and worked there until 1952.
where he stayed for seven years: the length of his contract. It was during this period that he wrote many of his books including The Gentle Art of Mathematics, Circles and a textbook, An Introduction to Projective Geometry
.
to take up a position as chair of the mathematics department to which he had been appointed by Sir Alexander Oppenheim
.
to take up a position at Purdue University
. One of the positions he held there was as Senior Mathematician to the Minnesota College Geometry Project. The idea of the project was to improve geometry teaching in high schools and colleges by making films and writing accompanying books.
where he stayed until he retired in 1980, upon which he was made Professor Emeritus.
A collaboration started which resulted in the publication of the book, Japanese Temple Geometry Problems by the Charles Babbage
Research Centre in Canada. The book succeeded in arousing interest in this uniquely Japanese form of mathematics.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and geometer with a career spanning more than sixty years. In the course of his life he wrote approximately fifty research and expository papers in geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
. He is also the author of various core books on mathematics and geometry some of which have remained in print for decades and been translated into several languages. These books include the three-volume Methods of Algebraic Geometry
Algebraic geometry
Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics which combines techniques of abstract algebra, especially commutative algebra, with the language and the problems of geometry. It occupies a central place in modern mathematics and has multiple conceptual connections with such diverse fields as complex...
(which he wrote in collaboration with W. V. D. Hodge
W. V. D. Hodge
William Vallance Douglas Hodge FRS was a Scottish mathematician, specifically a geometer.His discovery of far-reaching topological relations between algebraic geometry and differential geometry—an area now called Hodge theory and pertaining more generally to Kähler manifolds—has been a major...
), The Gentle Art of Mathematics, Circle
Circle
A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane that are a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any of the points and the centre is called the radius....
s: A Mathematical View, Geometry and the Visual Arts and most recently Japanese Temple Geometry Problems: San Gaku (with Hidetoshi Fukagawa).
Early life
Dan Pedoe was born in London in 1910, the son of an immigrant from PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
who found himself in London in the 1890s. His father had boarded a cattleboat not knowing whether it was bound for New York or London so his final destination was one of blind chance. Dan Pedoe's mother was the only child of a corn merchant from Łomża (part of Poland under Russian control). "Danny" was the youngest child in a family of some thirteen children and his childhood was spent in relative poverty in the East End of London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
. As a schoolboy he attended the Central Foundation Boys' School where he was first influenced in his love of geometry by the headmaster Norman M. Gibbins and a textbook by Godfrey and Siddons. He was successful at the "ten plus" examination and subsequently won a Scholarship to study mathematics at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
Cambridge, Princeton and Hodge
During his first three years at Magdalene College, CambridgeMagdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
, where he was a scholar, he was tutored in mathematics by Frank P. Ramsey
Frank P. Ramsey
Frank Plumpton Ramsey was a British mathematician who, in addition to mathematics, made significant and precocious contributions in philosophy and economics before his death at the age of 26...
. In 1935 he took a break from Cambridge and went to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
where he was made a member of the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
and worked with Lefschetz. His PhD was based on H. F. Baker
H. F. Baker
Henry Frederick Baker was a British mathematician, working mainly in algebraic geometry, but also remembered for contributions to partial differential equations , and Lie groups....
's work on the Italian theory
Italian school of algebraic geometry
In relation with the history of mathematics, the Italian school of algebraic geometry refers to the work over half a century or more done internationally in birational geometry, particularly on algebraic surfaces. There were in the region of 30 to 40 leading mathematicians who made major...
of algebraic surface
Algebraic surface
In mathematics, an algebraic surface is an algebraic variety of dimension two. In the case of geometry over the field of complex numbers, an algebraic surface has complex dimension two and so of dimension four as a smooth manifold.The theory of algebraic surfaces is much more complicated than that...
s. Hodge and Baker were his PhD examiners at Cambridge.
In 1941 a collaboration with Hodge
W. V. D. Hodge
William Vallance Douglas Hodge FRS was a Scottish mathematician, specifically a geometer.His discovery of far-reaching topological relations between algebraic geometry and differential geometry—an area now called Hodge theory and pertaining more generally to Kähler manifolds—has been a major...
started which lasted some twelve years and included the writing of the huge three-volume work, Method of Algebraic Geometry. Although the book was originally designed as a geometric counterpart of G. H. Hardy
G. H. Hardy
Godfrey Harold “G. H.” Hardy FRS was a prominent English mathematician, known for his achievements in number theory and mathematical analysis....
's A Course of Pure Mathematics it was never intended as a textbook and contains original material. First published in the 1940s, all three volumes were reprinted by Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
in 1995.
University of Southampton and Freeman Dyson
In 1936 he was appointed a member of the mathematics department at the University College, SouthamptonUniversity of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
. In 1941, on the request of Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
he was asked to assist with the teaching of mathematics. By this time he had married Mary Tunstall, an English geographer and in addition to a young daughter Naomi had identical twin sons, Dan and Hugh. He taught a number of classes and in the top class one of the students was the twelve-year-old Freeman Dyson
Freeman Dyson
Freeman John Dyson FRS is a British-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, famous for his work in quantum field theory, solid-state physics, astronomy and nuclear engineering. Dyson is a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists...
who showed enormous early talent and was strongly encouraged by Dan Pedoe with extra work and reading. Their friendship lasted more than fifty more years until Dan Pedoe's death in 1998 and Freeman Dyson's list of people who have most influenced him begins "Hardy, Pedoe...".
Birmingham University
In 1942 Dan Pedoe moved to BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and taught at the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
until 1946. Most of the work was in engineering mathematics. During this period he was enlisted in the war effort to improve piston rings with the goal of emulating the dive-bombing
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
tactics of the Nazis.
Westfield College
In 1947 he moved to Westfield CollegeWestfield College
Westfield College was a small college situated in Kidderpore Avenue, Hampstead, London, and was a constituent college of the University of London from 1882 to 1989. The college originally admitted only women as students and became coeducational in 1964. In 1989, Westfield College merged with Queen...
in the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and worked there until 1952.
Khartoum
In 1952 Dan Pedoe moved to the Sudan to take up a position at the University of KhartoumUniversity of Khartoum
The University of Khartoum ia a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Khartoum. It is the largest and oldest university in Sudan. UofK was founded as Gordon Memorial College in 1902 and established in 1956 when Sudan gained independence...
where he stayed for seven years: the length of his contract. It was during this period that he wrote many of his books including The Gentle Art of Mathematics, Circles and a textbook, An Introduction to Projective Geometry
Projective geometry
In mathematics, projective geometry is the study of geometric properties that are invariant under projective transformations. This means that, compared to elementary geometry, projective geometry has a different setting, projective space, and a selective set of basic geometric concepts...
.
Singapore
In 1958 he moved to SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to take up a position as chair of the mathematics department to which he had been appointed by Sir Alexander Oppenheim
Alexander Oppenheim
Sir Alexander Oppenheim, OBE FRSE Knight Bachelor PMN was a British mathematician and philanthropist. In mathematics, his most notable contribution is his Oppenheim conjecture...
.
Purdue
In 1962 he moved again to IndianaIndiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
to take up a position at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. One of the positions he held there was as Senior Mathematician to the Minnesota College Geometry Project. The idea of the project was to improve geometry teaching in high schools and colleges by making films and writing accompanying books.
Minnesota
After two years at Purdue, he held a position at the University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
where he stayed until he retired in 1980, upon which he was made Professor Emeritus.
San Gaku
Pedoe's interest and work continued after his retirement and in 1984 he was approached by Hidetoshi Fukagawa, a high-school teacher in Aichi, Japan. Fukagawa had tried unsuccessfully to interest Japanese academics in San Gaku – Japanese wooden tablets containing geometric theorems which had hung in temples and shrines for around two centuries as offerings to the gods.A collaboration started which resulted in the publication of the book, Japanese Temple Geometry Problems by the Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
Research Centre in Canada. The book succeeded in arousing interest in this uniquely Japanese form of mathematics.