David Eugene Smith
Encyclopedia
David Eugene Smith, Ph.D., LL.D. (January 21, 1860 in Cortland, New York
– July 29, 1944 in New York) was an American
mathematician, educator, and editor.
, graduating in 1881 (Ph. D., 1887; LL.D., 1905). He studied to be a lawyer concentrating in arts and humanities, but accepted an instructorship in mathematics at the Cortland Normal School in 1884. He also knew Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He became a professor at the Michigan State Normal College in 1891, the principal at the State Normal School
in Brockport, New York
(1898), and a professor of mathematics at Teachers College, Columbia University
(1901).
Smith became president of the Mathematical Association of America
in 1920. He also wrote a large number of publications of various types. He was editor of the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society
; contributed to other mathematical journals; published a series of textbooks; translated Klein
's Famous Problems of Geometry, Fink's History of Mathematics, and the Treviso Arithmetic
. He edited Augustus De Morgan
's Budget of Paradoxes (1915) and wrote many books on Mathematics which are listed below.
Cortland, New York
Cortland is a city in Cortland County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 18,740. It is the county seat of Cortland County.The City of Cortland, near the west border of the county, is surrounded by the Town of Cortlandville....
– July 29, 1944 in New York) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematician, educator, and editor.
Education and career
David Eugene Smith attended Syracuse UniversitySyracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, graduating in 1881 (Ph. D., 1887; LL.D., 1905). He studied to be a lawyer concentrating in arts and humanities, but accepted an instructorship in mathematics at the Cortland Normal School in 1884. He also knew Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He became a professor at the Michigan State Normal College in 1891, the principal at the State Normal School
State University of New York at Brockport
The College at Brockport: State University of New York, also known as SUNY Brockport, Brockport State, College at Brockport, or the State University of New York at Brockport, is a four-year liberal arts college located in Brockport, Monroe County, New York, United States, near Rochester...
in Brockport, New York
Brockport, New York
Brockport is a village located in the Town of Sweden in Monroe County, New York, USA. The population was 8,103 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from Hiel Brockway, an early settler....
(1898), and a professor of mathematics at Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education located in New York City, New York...
(1901).
Smith became president of the Mathematical Association of America
Mathematical Association of America
The Mathematical Association of America is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure and applied mathematicians; computer scientists;...
in 1920. He also wrote a large number of publications of various types. He was editor of the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, which it does with various publications and conferences as well as annual monetary awards and prizes to mathematicians.The society is one of the...
; contributed to other mathematical journals; published a series of textbooks; translated Klein
Felix Klein
Christian Felix Klein was a German mathematician, known for his work in group theory, function theory, non-Euclidean geometry, and on the connections between geometry and group theory...
's Famous Problems of Geometry, Fink's History of Mathematics, and the Treviso Arithmetic
Treviso Arithmetic
The Treviso Arithmetic, or Arte dell'Abbaco, is an anonymous textbook in commercial arithmetic written in vernacular Venetian and published in Treviso, Italy in 1478.The author tells us the reason for writing this textbook:...
. He edited Augustus De Morgan
Augustus De Morgan
Augustus De Morgan was a British mathematician and logician. He formulated De Morgan's laws and introduced the term mathematical induction, making its idea rigorous. The crater De Morgan on the Moon is named after him....
's Budget of Paradoxes (1915) and wrote many books on Mathematics which are listed below.
Works
- History of Modern Mathematics (1896; as a separate work, 1910) Cornell Historical Math Monographs
- The Teaching of Elementary Mathematics (1900) Cornell Historical Math Monographs
- The Teaching of Arithmetic (1909; revised edition, 1913)
- The Teaching of Geometry (1912)
- Rara Arithmetica (1908)
- The Hindu-Arabic Numerals (1911)
- A Bibliography on the Teaching of Mathematics (1912), with C. Goldziher
- A History of Japanese Mathematics (1914), with Y. Mikami
- Number Stories of Long Ago (1919)
- Mathematics In series Our Debt to Greece and Rome. (1923) Michigan Historical Math Collection
- History of Mathematics: 2 Volumes (1923/5). Reprinted Dover, 1958.
External links
- Works by David Eugene Smith at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- More electronic books by Smith, David Eugene at DML: Digital Mathematics Library
- Lao Genevra Simons David Eugene Smith—In memoriam Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 51, (1945), 40–50.