David Eugene Smith

David Eugene Smith ( born January 21, 1860 in Cortland, New York, † July 29, 1944 in New York) was an American historian of mathematics and mathematics educator.

Life and work

Smith studied art history, classical languages ​​and Hebrew at Syracuse University, where he received his doctorate in 1881. After that he studied on his father, a lawyer and land judge, law in Syracuse desire and in 1884 admitted to the bar. But he was rather a mathematics teacher and in 1884 received his doctorate in mathematics in Syracuse and 1887 in art history. Afterwards, he was a mathematics teacher at the State Normal College in Ypsilanti, Michigan, principals in Brockport, New York and, from 1901, a mathematics professor at the Teachers College of Columbia University, where he remained until his retirement in 1926. On his initiative, the International Commission on the Teaching of Mathematics ( ICTM ) was established, chaired by Felix Klein was. Smith was Vice President from 1908 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932 its president.

Smith was from 1902 to 1920 and librarian of the American Mathematical Society and himself an avid collector of mathematical literature. His library of 11,000 volumes went to Columbia University ( he also advised a further collector of mathematical literature, George Plimpton ). He was especially interested in Indian, Arabic, Far Eastern and medieval mathematics.

In 1932 he was president of the AMS. He was also involved in the founding of the Mathematical Association of America ( MAA ) and its Board of Trustees. 1920 to 1921 and 1928 to 1932, he was President of the MAA. For a long time he was also co-editor of the American Mathematical Monthly.

Smith was co-founder in 1924 of the History of Science Society in 1927 and its first president. He was co-editor of Scripta Mathematica.

For 1933, published Versversion of Rubayat of Omar Khayyam he received a medal of the Shah of Persia.

Writings

  • History of Modern Mathematics, 1896
  • History of Mathematics, 2 volumes, 1923, 1925
  • Rara Arithmetica, 1908
  • Number stories of long ago, 1919
  • With L. Karpinski: Hindu Arabic Numerals, 1919
  • With Yoshio Mikami: A history of japanese mathematics, 1914 ( online copy at archive.org )
  • With J. Ginsburg: A history of mathematics in America before 1900, 1934
  • Historian of mathematics
  • University teachers (Columbia University)
  • Americans
  • Born in 1860
  • Died in 1944
  • Man
Cortland (New York) Name Authority File
221632
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