Mayme Farmer Irwin Logsdon (February 1, 1881[1] – July 4, 1967)[2][3] was an American mathematician known for her research in algebraic geometry and mathematics education. She was the first woman to receive tenure in the University of Chicago mathematics department.[2]

Career

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Logsdon taught at a high school from 1900 to 1911 before she decided to return to school herself. She earned a Ph.B., S.M., and Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1913, 1915, and 1921 respectively.[1] Her doctoral advisor was L. E. Dickson.[4] She taught at Hastings College from 1913 to 1917 and at Northwestern University from 1917 to 1919. She then returned to her alma mater in 1921 where she was the only female regular faculty member above the rank of instructor until 1982 when Karen Uhlenbeck was appointed professor of mathematics.[3] Logsdon remained at the University of Chicago for a large portion of her career, until 1946, when Univ. of Chicago forced her to retire at 65 years old. She moved to Florida and continued her career by teaching another 15 years at University of Miami, retiring in 1961.[1][3]

Students at the University of Chicago include Anna A. Stafford (Henriques) (PhD), James Edward Case (PhD), Clyde Harvey Graves (PhD), Frank Ayres Jr (PhD)[3] and Abba Verbeck Newton (MS).[3]

Logsdon wrote two texts Elementary Mathematical Analysis (1932 volume 1 and 1933 volume 2) and A Mathematician Explains (1st edition 1935; 2nd edition 1936)[5] both for undergraduate mathematics.

Logsdon was a fellow of the International Education Board, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the director of the American Association of University Women (1929–1935).[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy (2000-01-01). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415920407.
  2. ^ a b Dick Meister, Ken Martin, and the Historical Society of Ogden Dunes (2014). Ogden Dunes: Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1467111898.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e Green, Judy; LaDuke, Jeanne (2008). Pioneering Women in American Mathematics — The Pre-1940 PhD's. History of Mathematics. Vol. 34 (1st ed.). American Mathematical Society, The London Mathematical Society. ISBN 978-0-8218-4376-5. Biography on p.372-375 of the Supplementary Material at AMS
  4. ^ Mayme Logsdon at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  5. ^ Both the 1935 edition and the 1936 edition contain a 13-page chapter 8 entitled Mathematical Interpretation of Geometric and Physical Phenomena by Gilbert Ames Bliss. The 1936 edition contains a 15-page chapter 9 entitled Mathematics and Life. See Ford, L. R. (October 1937). "Reviewed Work: A Mathematician Explains by Mayme I. Logsdon". The American Mathematical Monthly. 44 (8): 528–530. doi:10.2307/2301234. JSTOR 2301234. and Mallory, A. E. (November 1936). "Review of A Mathematician Explains by Mayme I. Logsdon". American Journal of Education. 44 (9). doi:10.1086/440008. S2CID 146517022.