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The emergence of the American mathematical research community, 1876–1900: J. J. Sylvester, Felix Klein, and E. H. Moore. (English) Zbl 0802.01005

History of Mathematics (Providence) 8. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society; London: London Mathematical Society (ISBN 0-8218-9004-2/hbk). xxiv, 500 p. (1994).
Though there exist several detailed presentations of the history of American science, a history of American mathematics was still missing. The present book intends to fill this gap in case of the period 1876– 1900. The first chapter gives a broad view of American mathematics from 1776–1876, the tenth and final chapter is an epilogue concerning the time from 1900 to 1933. The eight chapters in between are devoted to the last quarter of the \(19^{th}\) century, a crucial period, identified by the authors as the key quarter century (p. XIII). During this period the American mathematical scientific community emerged. In respect to this development the French and in particular British and German influence played a main role. In the newly founded University of Baltimore, J. J. Sylvester, a first-class British mathematician, became the first professor of mathematics (1876). With him the rise of the new period was inaugurated. In 1892 the University of Chicago was opened, one year later its dominant role for the future was emphasized by the World’s Columbian Exposition and the first international mathematics congress in the U.S. It were mainly four facts which turned out to be responsible for the way up: 1. First-class mathematicians from abroad, especially from Great Britain and Germany became professors. 2. American students studied abroad, mainly in Paris, Heidelberg, Leipzig, Berlin and particular in Göttingen. 3. The development of new mathematics journals, especially of those being connected with the newly founded American Mathematical Society (1888/1894). 4. The translation of famous, mostly French textbooks. In an excellent way this book gives an incredible amount of details never loosing sight of the whole. 13 tables and a subject index make information easy. The authors did not only use published sources (see bibliography pp. 455–485) but also manuscript material from several archives. There are included many photos, some of them being published for the first time. This book is a sound and high-quality investigation.

MSC:

01A55 History of mathematics in the 19th century
01A60 History of mathematics in the 20th century
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