James Edward Oliver (1829-1895) was an American mathematician known for his role in establishing the mathematics department at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

. Born in Portland, Maine, Oliver graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1849 and was immediately appointed assistant in the office of the American Nautical Almanac in Cambridge. Two decades would elapse before, in 1871, he became assistant professor of mathematics at Cornell, and two years later was appointed as full professor.Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1887-1889 Oliver chaired the Department of Mathematics at Cornell from 1871 until his death. He founded the Social Science Club and was a member of the University Ethical Association. He was known to play an important role in local politics and society, for example, introducing

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

at the Tompkins County Political Equality Convention in 1894. In a similar vein, he taught a popular class in ethics at the Unitarian Church in Ithaca. Oliver was an elected member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

, the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

and the National Academy of Sciences. He published "A Treatise on Trigonometry" in 1886. Oliver was fond of applying mathematics to then-unusual subjects. He attempted the formulation of economic laws as algebraic formulas and, at Cornell, founded a seminar in economics. Although he was not the first to make such attempts, his particular goal was to define the relation between economics and probability theory. In a published tribute, noted geometer G. B. Halsted ranked Oliver as a mathematical genius, "one of the most remarkable America has produced," but noted that he seemed to have no ambition to publish "an adequate record of his mental life. In personal character he resembled

Lobachevsky Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky ( rus, Никола́й Ива́нович Лобаче́вский, p=nʲikɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ləbɐˈtɕɛfskʲɪj, a=Ru-Nikolai_Ivanovich_Lobachevsky.ogg; – ) was a Russian mathematician and geometer, kn ...

, whom he intensely admired.""James Edward Oliver" by George Bruce Halsted, Science, vol. 1, issue 20, page 544 (May, 1895)

References

1829 births 1895 deaths Academics from Portland, Maine Cornell University faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Harvard College alumni {{Mathematician-stub