Publications' Places and People: Mapping 19 century ... · The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac Simon Newcomb A Washington, DC The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac Benjamin

Publications' Places and People:

Mapping 19th century American

Mathematical Journals

Deborah Kent

Drake University

A few introductory comments:

• Today, a broad overview of places and (some) people of periodical

publications in the US involving mathematical content from about

1800-1920 including some data, some vignettes, and some maps.

• Early American journals often involve little-known, peripheral figures, sometimes undocumented, anonymous or difficult to identify.

• Types of outlets for periodical mathematical publication:

Almanacs (Q&A)

Educational journals

Mathematical journals

General scientific journals

Trade publications

Newspapers

• US territorial growth maps from Perry-Castañeda Library

Map Collection, University of Texas at Austin

Key for US Territorial Growth Maps

Earliest outlets for sporadic scientific publication

General Science journals

under society auspices

1. Transactions of the

American Philosophical

Society (1771)

Mathematical content was

surveying or astronomy.

2. Memoirs of the American

Academy of Arts and Sciences

(1785)

Applications of mathematics

to geography and navigation.

American periodicals including

mathematical content, 1800-1820

Dates Journal Editor Type Location

1804-

1806 The Mathematical Correspondent George Baron

M

(Q&A) New York, NY

May

1807 The Mathematical Correspondent Robert Adrain

M

(Q&A) Reading, PA

1808 The Analyst or Mathematical Museum Robert Adrain

M

(Q&A) Philadelphia, PA

1814 The Analyst or Mathematical Museum

Hans Hassler&Robert

Patterson

M

(Q&A) Philadelphia, PA

1818--

now The Maine Farmer's Almanac

David Young/Daniel

Robinson (math) A (Q&A) Hallowell, ME

1818--? Hutchins' Improved Family Almanac David Young A (Q&A) New York, NY

1818-

1819 The Monthly Scientific Journal William Marrat

M

(Q&A) New York, NY

1819--

now

The American Journal of Science and the

Arts Benjamin Silliman G New Haven, CT

1820-

1822

The Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Diary or

United States Almanac Melatiah Nash A (Q&A) New York, NY

Publication centers mostly

align with population centers

From 1771-1834, 84 authors

published mathematics in the

Transactions, the Memoirs,

and the Journal

Approx 40-50% college

graduates.

33 of the authors (41%) were

(briefly) college professors

10 of 33 listed as professors of

mathematics exclusively; 6 of

those 10 from West Point

f

Contributors of mathematics to general science journals

AJSA Contributors of Mathematics



1825-

1826 The Mathematical Diary Robert Adrain

M

(Q&A) Reading, PA

1826--

1829 The Mathematical Diary James Ryan

M

(Q&A)

Philadelphia,

PA

1832 The Mathematical Diary Samuel Ward

M

(Q&A) New York, NY

1828-

1831 The Mathematical Companion John D. Williams

M

(Q&A)

1832-

1833 The Schoolmaster Rev. Timothy Clowes

E

(Q&A) Hampsted, NY

1836-

1839 The Mathematical Miscellaney Charles Gill

M

(Q&A) Flushing, NY

1842

The Cambridge Miscellany of Mathematics,

Physics, & Astronomy

Benjamin Peirce and

Joseph Lovering

M

(Q&A)/

R Cambridge, MA

1818--1850 The Maine Farmer's Almanac

David Young/Daniel Robinson (math) A (Q&A)

Morristown, NJ/Hallowell, ME

? -1934 The Maine Farmer's Almanac William Jardine A (Q&A) Morristown, NJ


Ongoing almanacs:

Editor Locations, 1800-1840

Recurring as contributors and editors: R. Adrain, B.

Peirce, C. Gill, W. Marrat, O. Root, T. Strong, J. Lovering,

Robert Adrain’s Recurring Editorial Efforts

• In 1807, Adrain edited The Mathematical Correspondent

• Started The Analyst or Mathematical Museum in 1808

• Failed attempt to revive, 1814

• The Mathematical Diary, 1825

• All modeled on The Lady’s and Gentleman’s Diary

Robert Adrain

(1775–1843)

Escaped to America

after Irish rebellion and taught at various

US colleges.

Charles Gill, actuary and journal junkie

• In 1834, Gill founded the Journal of the Institute of Flushing to “stimulate academic achievement among secondary school students.”

• In 1836, started The Mathematical Miscellany “for the advantage of those desirous to progress in the important study of mathematics.”

• Gill posed many Diophantine problems and published excerpts from Cauchy’s Analyse algébrique

! Charles Gill, a British expatriot and actuary,

contributed regularly to Adrain’s Mathematical Diary.

“After the stuff I have crammed

down my throat -- for in my

capacity of Editor I have all

kinds of crude conjectures

thrust upon me which I am

obliged to wade through, bring

into order, and ‘lick into shape’--

you can have no idea of the

absolute pleasure conveyed to

me by the perusal of your

solutions. They are like an oasis

in the desert.”

Gill to Peirce, 1 Aug 1836Benjamin Peirce

(1809-1880)

Editorial Realities

Harvard faculty editors aim high• The Cambridge Miscellany, 1842, broadly

defined mathematical sciences, including Astronomy, Physics, Meteors,&Meteorology

• Peirce and Gill discussed translating articles from Liouville and Crelle

– Cauchy’s optics and Liouville’s integration

Joseph Lovering

(1813-1892)

! Strong promotion of scientific

professionalization with patriotic

argument.

! Want to showcase American work.! Junior and senior challenge problems Benjamin Peirce

(1809-1880)

c. 1800-1850: Potential audience for

mathematical publications• Technical scientific or mathematical training was rare:

West Point (1802), Rensselear Polytechnic Institute (1823), Sheffield School (1843), Lawrence School (1846)

• Educated elite skeptical about science as a profession

• No well-formed identity existed for an American scientist, much less an American mathematician

• Mathematical practitioners were primarily affiliated with high schools or fledgling rural colleges, and most had been trained in other disciplines (law, theology)

• Population estimate approximately 360, not necessarily all subscribed to journals.

• Little concept of fitting work into themes of current research topics, or even the idea of original research

Locations of Mathematical Practitioners, c. 1850

Culture of Early American Journals

• Emphasis on patriotic motivation for Mathematical journals

• Vague interest in “educating readership”

• Posing problems/Publishing solutions

– Mathematical riddles

– Geometric constructions/Euclidean proofs

– Simultaneous solution of

x(x+y+z) =6

y(x+y+z) =12

z(x+y+z) =18


• Emphasis on patriotic motivation for

Mathematical journals



• Sharing interesting tidbits

– Raw astronomical data

– Electrical facts

– Domestic housecats






• Discussion/Opinion Pieces– On the usefulness of mathematics

– The role of mathematical education

– Analysis of relative merits of fluxions and differential calculus






• Discussion/Opinion Pieces

• Often modelled on British Q&A publications

• These periodicals essentially were open to anything of interest to mathematical practitioners, occasional readers, and/or editors

Of interest to a few of the early editors

• Strong promotion of scientific professionalization

with patriotic argument• More challenging problems

• Publishing translations of articles from the

Journal de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées

and the Journal für die reine und andgewandte

Mathematik–Cauchy’s optics and Liouville’s integration

•70% of contributors responded exclusively to the Junior Department

•Subscribers wanted student problems, not research material

Still…



1842

The Cambridge Miscellany of Mathematics, Physics, & Astronomy

Benjamin Peirce and Joseph Lovering

M (Q&A)/R Cambridge, MA

1856-1904 The Railroad Gazette T (Q&A) NYC and Chicago

1858-1860 The Mathematical Monthly J.D. Runkle M (Q&A) Cambridge, MA






Ongoing almanacs:

1852--1980 The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac Charles Davies A Washington, DC

The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac Simon Newcomb A Washington, DC

The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac Benjamin Peirce A Cambridge, MA

Additional almanacs:

The Farmer's Almanac Samuel Hart Wright A (Q&A) Penn Yan, NY

The Knickerbocker Almanac Samuel Hart Wright A (Q&A) Penn Yan, NY

Farmer's Almanac Lodi Manufacturing CO A (Q&A)


Common Plight of Early Mathematical Journals

• Editorial demands too much given other responsibilities = Editorial exhaustion with lack of available help

• Constraints for location of publication

– Mathematical typesetting equipment

– Publicity and visibility

– Mathematically competent editor

• Journals funded by editor, or relied on subscriptions for survival, and often suffered financial woes.








Ongoing almanacs:







1858-1860 The Mathematical Monthly J.D. Runkle M (Q&A) Cambridge, MA

1870-1875 Clark's School Visitor Artemas Martin E (Q&A) Erie, PA

1872-1880 Yates County Chronicle Samuel Hart Wright N (Q&A) Penn Yan, NY

1874-1884

The Analyst: A Monthly Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Joel Hendricks

M (Q&A)/R Des Moines, IA

1875-1876 Normal Monthly Artemas Martin E (Q&A) Erie, PA

1877-1894 Mathematical Visitor Artemas Martin M (Q&A) Erie, PA

1878-now The American Journal of Mathematics James Joseph Sylvester, M/R Baltimore, MD

“the facilities for the

publication of any kind

[of scientific literature

in America] are

extremely restricted,

and have increased but

little during the last

fifty years.” (1876)

Simon Newcomb

Locations of Subscribers to Vol. 1 of the AJM

About 200 subscriptions in the US, as well as a number

in Japan, France, England, Canada, and Germany.

Joel E. Hendricks, Editor of The Analyst

• School through grade 8

• While a wheelwright, read astronomy and navigation

• 2 years of medical school, no degree, 8 year medical practice

• 1850-1860, school examiner, county government official, founding academy president

• 1861, assigned to government survey in Colorado

• 1864, moved to Des Moines, worked in railway surveying, “accumulated a comfortable fortune”

• 1865, honorary A.M.

• 1872, elected to city council

• 1874-1884, edited The Analyst

• 1885, elected fellow A.A.A.S.

• 1891, elected member of N.Y. Mathematical Society

1818-1893

Locations of Subscribers to Vol. 1 of the AJM

“I would be delighted to see a Journal like these be

established in the United States, but I am afraid

that Des Moines is just not the place for it. It is too

far west, on the very borders of civilization. I do not

know, but presume there cannot be at Des Moines

any very extensive mathematical libraries; these are

very necessary for the able conduct of a periodical.

Again do the printing establishments with

you have the extensive founts of type and

and compositors who understand the

setting, necessary in the printing of complex

mathematical formulae?”

“I would be delighted to see a Journal like these be

established in the United States, but I am afraid

that Des Moines is just not the place for it. It is too

far west, on the very borders of civilization. I do not

know, but presume there cannot be at Des Moines

any very extensive mathematical libraries; these are

very necessary for the able conduct of a periodical.

Again do the printing establishments with

you have the extensive founts of type and

and compositors who understand the setting,

necessary in the printing of complex

mathematical formulae?”

“Do not let what I have said discourage you

for your journal…”

Hendricks sustains the journal for 10 years

Inadequate libraries? Find correspondents. ! Carl Pelz, Technische Hochschule, Graz

! J.W.L. Glashier, Trinity College

Cambridge

! La-Societe Physico Mathematique,

Kasan

! Royal Observatory Greenwich

! Giovanni Schiaparelli, Milan

Observatoire

! Nicholas Camille Flammarian, France

! Edward Olney

! James Dwight Dana

! Benjamin Silliman

! John W. Draper

! Orson Pratt

! Simon Newcomb

! Oliver Wendell Holmes

! Christine Ladd Franklin

! Boston Public Library

! U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey

! U.S. Magnetic Observatory


Unskilled typesetters? Do it yourself.

Other prices in New York:

– Liouville’s Journal, $5.00

gold per volume

– Crelle’s Journal, $12.00

gold per volume


Financial Challenges? Private fortune and reasonable prices.

Other prices in New York:

– Liouville’s Journal, $5.00

gold per volume

– Crelle’s Journal, $12.00

gold per volume


Financial Challenges? Private fortune and reasonable prices.

A few advertisments:

Hendricks Virginia Harvard Princeton IAS

! In 1884, Ormand Stone and William Thornton

continued the publication with the name Annals of

Mathematics, Pure and Applied under the auspices of

the University of Virginia.

! The publication moved to Harvard University in 1899.

! In 1911, Princeton University took up

publishing the journal.

! Since 1933, the Annals of Mathematics

has been edited jointly by Princeton

University and the Institute for

Advanced Study.










1874-1884

The Analyst: A Monthly Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Joel Hendricks

M (Q&A)/R Des Moines, IA

1875-1876 Normal Monthly Artemas Martin E (Q&A) Erie, PA

1877-1894 Mathematical Visitor Artemas Martin M (Q&A) Erie, PA

1878-now The American Journal of Mathematics James Joseph Sylvester M/R Baltimore, MD

1882-1884 Mathematical Magazine Artemas Martin M (Q&A) Erie, PA

1904/1910 Mathematical Magazine M (Q&A)

1884-1899 The Annals of Mathematics Ormand Stone M/R Charlottesville, VA

1899-1911 The Annals of Mathematics M/R Cambridge, MA

1911-now The Annals of Mathematics M/R Princeton, NJ

1891-1895 Bulletin of the New York Mathematical Society New York

1895--now Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society

1894--now American Mathematical Monthly

Springfield, Lancaster, Chicago

1899-now Transactions of the AMS New York

1896 The Mathematical Review

1897 -- University of PA Mathematics publications Philadelphia, PA

Ongoing almanacs:


Urban Map 1898

Work still to do: American periodicals

including mathematical content, 1900+1908-1909 The Mathematics Teacher Syracuse, NY

1914? Bibliotheca Mathematica

1915 --- Proceedings of the National Academy of sciences.

1932 Scripta Mathematica

1920s Mathematics News Letter

National Mathematics Magazine LSU

The Schoolday Magazine Artemas Martin E (Q&A) Philadelphia, PA

The Normal Monthly Prof. Edward Broaks E (Q&A) Millersville, PA

Educational Notes and Queries Hon. W.D Henkle E (Q&A) Salem, OH

Illinois Schoolmaster E (Q&A) Chicago, IL

Morton's Monthly E (Q&A) Louisville, KY

Thomas' Almanac A (Q&A) Worcester, MA

Pittsburgh Almanac A (Q&A)

Saturday Evening Post N(Q&A)

Science

Century

Popular Science Monthly

Proceedings of the AAAS Boston

Journal of Education

School Science and Mathematics D.E. Smith

The Scientific Monthly

Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada

Mathematical Reviews

A few concluding comments:• Early American journals often involve little-known, peripheral

figures, sometimes undocumented, anonymous or hard to identify

• Many journals feature episodic publication and abrupt ends. Idiosyncrasies exist, but there are also some common themes: editorial exhaustion, publication constraints, financial unviability.

• Limited evidence about journal finances, which seem central.

• Subscription data and circulation evidence are often elusive.

• How/does the success or failure of one journal impact the prospects for the next? Can specialized mathematical publication be viewed as a sustained effort throughout the 19th century? Ongoing interest.

• Unclear role of Almanac Q&A, ephemerides, and

eclipse calculations.

Publications' Places and People: Mapping 19 century ... · The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac Simon Newcomb A Washington, DC The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac Benjamin

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