Benjamin Osgood Peirce

Benjamin Osgood Peirce (February 11, 1854 – January 14, 1914) was an American mathematician and a holder of the Hollis Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard from 1888 until his death in 1914.[1][2]

Benjamin Osgood Peirce
Black and white photograph of man with bald head, sideburns and mustache wearing eyeglasses and a black suit with a white shirt and tie.
Peirce in 1914
Born(1854-02-11)February 11, 1854
DiedJanuary 14, 1914(1914-01-14) (aged 59)
Resting placeCentral Cemetery
Beverly, Massachusetts, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHarvard University
Leipzig University (PhD)
Spouse
Isabella Turnbull Landreth
(m. 1882)
Children2
Scientific career
InstitutionsHarvard University
Thesis Über die Electromotorische Knifte von Gaselemente  (1879)
Doctoral studentsWilliam Elwood Byerly
Signature

Early life

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Benjamin Osgood Peirce was born to M. (née Seccomb) and Benjamin Osgood Peirce on February 11, 1854, in Beverly, Massachusetts. In 1876, he graduated from Harvard College. He then received a PhD from the Leipzig University in 1879.[3] He then studied in Berlin, Germany for another year.[3]

Career

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Peirce taught at the Boston Latin School for one year. From 1881 to 1884, he taught mathematics at Harvard University. He then taught mathematics and physics as an assistant professor until 1888. In 1888, he became the Hollis Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy.[3]

Pierce was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1884.[4] Peirce was elected to the Council of the American Mathematical Society, serving from 1896 to 1898. He was a founder of the American Physical Society when it began in 1899 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (United States) in 1906.[5][6] He was honored with election to foreign academies such as the Mathematical Circle of Palermo and the French Physical Society. In 1910 he was awarded an honorary degree by Harvard University.[5] That same year, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.[7] In 1912 he represented Harvard University at the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Society of London.[5]

Personal life

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Peirce married Isabella Turnbull Landreth in 1882. Together, they had two daughters.[3]

Removed by several degrees, he was a cousin of Charles Sanders Peirce,[8] whose father, Benjamin Peirce, worked as the academic advisor to Joseph Lovering, Benjamin Osgood Peirce's predecessor as holder of the Hollis Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy.

Death

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Peirce died at his home in Cambridge from angina on January 14, 1914.[3] He is buried at the Central Cemetery in Beverly.[9]

Works

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A list of all the publications of Benjamin Osgood Peirce:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hall, Edwin H. (1919), "Biographical Memoir of Benjamin Osgood Peirce 1854–1914" (PDF), Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, VIII: 436–466.
  2. ^ O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Benjamin Osgood Peirce", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Hollis Professor at Harvard Dead". The Boston Globe. January 15, 1914. p. 16. Retrieved July 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "Benjamin Osgood Peirce". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. February 9, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Benjamin Osgood Peirce". mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  6. ^ "Benjamin Peirce". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  7. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  8. ^ Eisele, Carolyn (2008). "Peirce, Benjamin Osgood, II.". In Gillispie, Charles Coulston; Holmes, Frederic Lawrence; Koertge, Noretta (eds.). Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Detroit, Michigan: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 9780684315591. OCLC 187313311. Retrieved October 4, 2018 – via Encyclopedia.com.
  9. ^ ""Interesting Burials in Beverly Cemeteries" by Thomas F. Scully" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 31, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
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Academic offices
Preceded by Hollis Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy
1888-1914
Succeeded by