For others with a similar name, see Benjamin Pierce. Benjamin Pierce (1757-1839) was a governor of New Hampshire in the 1820s. ...

Benjamin Peirce

Benjamin Peirce (pronounced purse), April 4, 1809 – October 6, 1880) was an American mathematician who taught at Harvard University for forty years. He made contributions in celestial mechanics, number theory, algebra, and philosophy of mathematics. Download high resolution version (700x1021, 284 KB) Benjamin Peirce, astronomer and Superintendent of the US Coast and Geodetic Survey Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce [1] Source http://www. ... Download high resolution version (700x1021, 284 KB) Benjamin Peirce, astronomer and Superintendent of the US Coast and Geodetic Survey Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce [1] Source http://www. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years). ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Leonhard Euler is considered by many people to be one of the greatest mathematicians of all time A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is mathematics. ... Harvard University campus (old map) Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... Celestial mechanics is a division of astronomy dealing with the motions and gravitational effects of celestial objects. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Linear algebra lecture at Helsinki University of Technology This article is about the branch of mathematics; for other uses of the term see algebra (disambiguation). ... Philosophy of mathematics is that branch of philosophy which attempts to answer questions such as: why is mathematics useful in describing nature?, in which sense(s), if any, do mathematical entities such as numbers exist? and why and how are mathematical statements true?. Various approaches to answering these questions will...

After graduating from Harvard, he became a tutor there (1829), then was appointed professor of mathematics in 1831. He added astronomy to his portfolio in 1842, and remained as Harvard professor until his death. In addition, he was instrumental in the development of Harvard's science curriculum, served as the school's librarian, and was director of the U.S. Coast Survey from 1867 from 1874. // English secondary schools In English Secondary Schools the Form Tutor is similar to an American Home Room Teacher. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The meaning of the word professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) varies. ... Leopold I 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Radio telescopes are among many different tools used by astronomers Astronomy (Greek: αστρονομία = άστρον + νόμος, astronomia = astron + nomos, literally, law of the stars) is the science of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere, such as stars, planets, comets, auroras, galaxies, and the cosmic background radiation. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... In education, a curriculum (plural curricula) is the set of courses and their contents offered by an institution such as a school or university. ... The Librarian, a 1556 painting by Giuseppe Arcimboldo A librarian is a person who develops procedures for organizing information and provides services which assist and instruct people in the most efficient and effective ways to identify, locate, access, and use information and resources (articles, books, magazines, etc. ... The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey was established by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 as the Survey of the Coast. ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

In number theory, he proved there is no odd perfect number with fewer than four prime factors. In mathematics, a perfect number is defined as an integer which is the sum of its proper positive divisors, excluding itself. ... In mathematics, a prime number (or a prime) is a natural number that has exactly two (distinct) natural number divisors, which are 1 and the prime number itself. ...

In algebra, he was notable for the study of associative algebras. He first introduced the terms idempotent and nilpotent to describe elements of these algebras. In mathematics, an associative algebra is a vector space (or more generally, a module) which also allows the multiplication of vectors in a distributive and associative manner. ... In mathematics, an idempotent element is an element which, intuitively, leaves something unchanged. ... In mathematics, an element x of a ring R is called nilpotent if there exists some positive integer n such that xn = 0. ...

In the philosophy of mathematics, he became known for the statement that "Mathematics is the science that draws necessary conclusions", and believed, along with George Boole, that mathematics could be used to analyze logic. This was in opposition to the program of Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell to base mathematics on logic. George Boole [], (November 2, 1815 Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England – December 8, 1864 Ballintemple, Cork City, Ireland) was a mathematician and philosopher. ... Logic, from Classical Greek λόγος (logos), originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, (but coming to mean thought or reason) is most often said to be the study of criteria for the evaluation of arguments, although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy among philosophers. ... Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege (8 November 1848, Wismar – 26 July 1925, Bad Kleinen) was a German mathematician who evolved into a logician and philosopher. ... Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was a British philosopher, logician, and mathematician, working mostly in the 20th century. ...

He was an expert witness in the Howland will forgery trial. His analysis of the signature in question showed that it resembled another particular handwriting example so closely that the chances of such a match were statistically extremely remote. The Howland will forgery trial was a US court case in 1868 to decide Henrietta Howland Robinsons contest of the will of Sylvia Ann Howland. ...

As a person he was devoutly Christian seeing "mathematics as study of God's work by God's creatures." He also had a son Charles Peirce who was also an accomplished scientist and scholar. Charles Sanders Peirce Charles Sanders Santiago Peirce (pronounced purse), (September 10, 1839, Cambridge, Massachusetts – April 19, 1914, Milford, Pennsylvania) was an American polymath. ...

Works

• Physical and Celestial Mathematics, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855)
• An Elementary Treatise on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry (1861)
• Linear Associative Algebra (1880)

Little, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

References

• S. R. Peterson, "Benjamin Peirce: Mathematician and Philosopher", Journal of the History of Ideas 16, 89–112 (1955)
• P. Meier and S. Zaibel, "Benjamin Pierce and the Howland Will", Journal of the American Statistical Association 75, 497–506 (1980)

External links

• Grattan-Guinness, Ivor, and Walsh, Alison (2005), "Benjamin Peirce", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.), Eprint.
• O'Connor, John J., and Robertson, Edmund F. (2005), "Benjamin Peirce", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, Eprint.