NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Daniel Pedoe

Dan Pedoe (1910 to 1998) was an English-born mathematician and geometer with a career spanning more than sixty years. In the course of his life he wrote approximately fifty research and expository papers in geometry. He is also the author of various core books on mathematics and geometry some of which have remained in print for decades and been translated into several languages. These books include the three-volume Methods of Algebraic Geometry (which he wrote in collaboration with WVD Hodge), The Gentle Art of Mathematics, Circles: A Mathematical View, Geometry and the Visual Arts and most recently Japanese Temple Geometry Problems: San Gaku (with Hidetosi Fukagawa). 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... A geometer is a mathematician whose area of study is geometry. ... Geometry (from the Greek words Ge = earth and metro = measure) is the branch of mathematics first introduced by Thales (circa 624-547 BC) dealing with spatial relationships. ... ... Sangaku or San Gaku (算額; lit. ...

His career started at Magdalene College, Cambridge where he served as a Scholar and Bye-fellow. He received a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1937. He has also held positions at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, the University of Southampton, the University of Birmingham, the University of London (Westfield College), Khartoum University (in the Sudan), the University of Singapore, Purdue University and the University of Minnesota (where he was made Professor Emeritus). His career brought him into contact with many prominent academics and thinkers of the period. Full name The College of St Mary Magdalene Motto Garde ta Foy Keep your Faith Named after Mary Magdalene Previous names - Established 1428 Sister College Magdalen College Master Duncan Robinson Location Magdalene Street Undergraduates 335 Graduates 169 Homepage Boatclub Magdalene College (pronounced Maudlin) was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Fuld Hall The Institute for Advanced Study is a private institution in Princeton Township, New Jersey, designed to foster pure cutting-edge research by scientists in a variety of fields without the complications of teaching or funding, or the agendas of sponsorship. ... Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. ... University of Southampton Dolphin logo The University of Southampton is a British university, with a reputation for quality research. ... The University of Birmingham is the oldest of three universities in the English city of Birmingham. ... Senate House, designed by Charles Holden home to the universitys central administration offices and its library The University of London is a federation of colleges which together constitute one of the worlds largest universities. ... Westfield College was a small college founded by Kathleen Chesney in 1882. ... Purdue University is a public land-grant university system within the state of Indiana. ... Affectionately referred to by locals as the U or U of M, The University of Minnesota is a large university with several campuses spread throughout the U.S. state of Minnesota. ... A professor is a senior teacher and researcher, usually in a college or university. ...

Contents

1 Childhood and early Education

2 Cambridge, Princeton and Hodge

3 University of Southampton and Freeman Dyson

4 Birmingham University

Childhood and early Education

Dan Pedoe was born in London in 1910, the son of an immigrant from Poland who found himself in London in the 1890's. His father had boarded a cattleboat not knowing whether it was bound for New York or London so his final destination was one of blind chance. Dan Pedoe's mother was the only child of a corn merchant from Lomza (part of Poland under Russian control). "Danny" was the youngest child in a family of some thirteen children and his childhood was spent in relative poverty in the East End of London. As a schoolboy he attended the Central Foundation Boys' School where he was first influenced in his love of geometry by the headmaster Norman M. Gibbins and a textbook by Godfrey and Siddons. He was successful at the "ten plus" examination and subsequently won a Scholarship to study mathematics at Cambridge University. The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Łomża is a town in north-eastern Poland, located approx. ... The term East End is most commonly used to refer to the East End of London. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world (after Oxford). ...

Cambridge, Princeton and Hodge

During his first three years at Magdalene College he was tutored in mathematics by A.S.Ramsey and was a contemporary of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell. In 1935 he took a break from Cambridge and went to Princeton University where he was made a member of the Institute for Advanced Study and worked with Lefschetz. His PhD was based on Baker's work on the Italian theory of algebraic surfaces and W.V.D. Hodge and H.F.Baker were his PhD examiners at Cambridge. Magdalene College could be Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalene College, Cambridge This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), pictured here in 1930, made influential contributions to logic and the philosophy of language, critically examining the task of conventional philosophy and its relation to the nature of language. ... Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (May 18, 1872–February 2, 1970) was an influential mathematician, philosopher, and logician of the modern age, working mostly in the 20th century. ... Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. ... Fuld Hall The Institute for Advanced Study is a private institution in Princeton Township, New Jersey, designed to foster pure cutting-edge research by scientists in a variety of fields without the complications of teaching or funding, or the agendas of sponsorship. ... Solomon Lefschetz (3 September 1884-5 October 1972) was a US mathematician who did fundamental work on algebraic topology, its applications to algebraic geometry, and the theory of non-linear ordinary differential equations. ... This article is about a mathematician. ...

In 1941 a collaboration with Hodge started which lasted some twelve years and included the writing of the huge three volume work, Method of Algebraic Geometry. Although the book was originally designed as a geometric counterpart of G.H. Hardy's A Course of Pure Mathematics it was never intended as a textbook and contains original material. First published in the 1940's all three volumes were reprinted by Cambridge University Press in 1995. This article is about a mathematician. ... The headquarters of the Cambridge University Press, in Trumpington Street, Cambridge. ...

University of Southampton and Freeman Dyson

In 1936 he was appointed a member of the mathematics department at the University College, Southampton. In 1941, on the request of Winchester College he was asked to assist with the teaching of mathematics. By this time he had married Mary Tunstall, an english geographer and in addition to a young daughter Naomi had identical twin sons, Dan and Hugh. He taught a number of classes and in the top class one of the students was the twelve-year-old Freeman Dyson who showed enormous early talent and was strongly encouraged by Dan Pedoe with extra work and reading. Their friendship lasted more than fifty more years until Dan Pedoe's death in 1998 and Freeman Dyson's list of people who have most influenced him begins "Hardy, Pedoe...". Winchester College is a public school in the city of Winchester in Hampshire, in the south of England. ... Freeman Dyson at Harvard University in 2004 Freeman John Dyson (born December 15, 1923) is an English-born American physicist and mathematician. ...

Birmingham University

In 1942 Dan Pedoe moved to Birmingham and taught at Birmingham University until 1946. Most of the work was in engineering mathematics. During this period he was enlisted in the war effort to improve piston rings with the goal of emulating the dive-bombing tactics of the Nazis. The city from above Centenary Square. ... The University of Birmingham is the oldest of three universities in the English city of Birmingham. ... A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ...

Westfield College

In 1947 he moved to Westfield College in the University of London and worked there until 1952. Westfield College was a small college founded by Kathleen Chesney in 1882. ... Senate House, designed by Charles Holden home to the universitys central administration offices and its library The University of London is a federation of colleges which together constitute one of the worlds largest universities. ...

Khartoum

In 1952 Dan Pedoe moved to the Sudan to take up a position at the University of Khartoum where he stayed for seven years: the length of his contract. It was during this period that he wrote many of his books including The Gentle Art of Mathematics, Circles and a textbook, An Introduction to Projective Geometry. The University of Khartoum is a university located in and near Khartoum, Sudan. ...

Singapore

In 1958 he moved to Singapore to take up a position as chair of the mathematics department to which he had been appointed by Sir Alexander Oppenheim.

Purdue

In 1962 he moved again to Indiana to take up a position at Purdue University. One of the positions he held there was as Senior Mathematician to the Minnesota College Geometry Project. The idea of the project was to improve geometry teaching in high schools and colleges by making films and writing accompanying books. State nickname: The Hoosier State Other U.S. States Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Governor Mitch Daniels Official languages English Area 94,321 km² (38th) - Land 92,897 km² - Water 1,424 km² (1. ... Purdue University is a public land-grant university system within the state of Indiana. ...

Minnesota

After two years at Purdue, he held a position at the University of Minesota where he stayed until his retirement upon which he was made Professor Emeritus. A professor is a senior teacher and researcher, usually in a college or university. ...

San Gaku

Dan's interest and work continued after his retirement and in 1984 he was approached by Hidetosi Fukagawa, a high school teacher in Aichi, Japan. Fukagawa had tried unsuccessfully to interest Japanese academics in San Gaku - Japanese wooden tablets containing geometric theorems which had hung in temples and shrines for around two centuries as offerings to the gods. Aichi can refer to: Aichi Prefecture Aichi Steel Corporation This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Sangaku or San Gaku (算額; lit. ...

A collaboration started which resulted in the publication of the book, Japanese Temple Geometry Problems by the Charles Babbage Research Centre in Canada. The book succeeded in arousing interest in this uniquely Japanese form of mathematics.

Death

Dan Pedoe died in 1998, aged 88, after a long period with failing health. He was survived by his twin sons, Dan and Hugh Tunstall-Pedoe, and six grandchildren.

References

"In Love with Geometry - Daniel Pedoe", College Mathematics Journal, 1998, Volume 29 pp. 170-188

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