John Hopper Mathews (August 3, 1926 – February 2, 2015) was an American and

Osage Nation The Osage Nation ( ) ( Osage: 𐓁𐒻 𐓂𐒼𐒰𐓇𐒼𐒰͘ ('), "People of the Middle Waters") is a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Great Plains. The tribe developed in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys around 700 BC along ...

actor, professor, and research scientist. Mathews was born in Los Angeles and shortly after his father,

John Joseph Mathews John Joseph Mathews (November 16, 1894 – June 16, 1979) (Osage) became one of the Osage Nation's most important spokespeople and writers, and served on the Osage Tribal Council during the 1930s. He studied at the University of Oklahoma, Oxf ...

, left the family. He moved with his mother, Virginia Hopper, and older sister, Virginia Mathews, to New York City where he worked as a radio actor, broadway actor, and church choir singer to help support the family. Mathews later attended the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

, and the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

before starting a career as a military research scientist. After retiring from civil service he taught at Bowie State College.

Early life and acting

John Hopper Mathews was born on August 3, 1926, to

and his first wife Virginia Winslow Hopper in Los Angeles, California. He's the younger brother of Virginia Mathews and a member of the

. In September 1928, John left his wife and children. The family later moved to New York. During the 1930s he worked as a professional radio and broadway actor and as a choir boy to help support the family since John provided little financial support. He sang at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, played a bit part in ''

Set to Music Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

'' (1939) on Broadway, and appeared in multiple episodes of '' The March of Time''. He also acted in radio, voicing characters on ''Raising Your Parents'' (1936-1937) and ''The Rich Kid'' (1937-1938). While John and his father would speak later in his life, they were never close.

Education and research

Mathews attended the

United States Naval Academy Preparatory School The Naval Academy Preparatory School or NAPS is the preparatory school for the United States Naval Academy. NAPS is located on Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. The mission of the Naval Academy Preparatory School is "To enhance Midshipman Ca ...

and later studied engineering at the

, graduating in 1950. He continued to act while in college in school productions. He attended the

. He then attended the

in 1959 and earned a master's degree in physics. In 1962, he moved to Bowie, Maryland to work as a research scientist for the United States. He worked for the

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, and

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. Some of his research was published in ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

''. After retiring from civil service, he taught at Bowie State College and worked for Travelling Tutors.

Personal life and death

Mathews met his wife, Mary Abigail "Gail" Painter, in 1949 and they married on July 27, 1951. She was the daughter of

Sidney Painter Sidney Painter (September 23, 1902 – January 12, 1960) was an American medievalist and historian. He was a fellow of the Mediaeval Academy and professor of history and chairman of the department of history at Johns Hopkins University. Painter ...

. They had three children. He died on February 2, 2015.

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, John Hopper 1926 births 2015 deaths Bowie State University faculty ETH Zurich alumni Osage people John Hopper Native American educators Native American male actors Native American scientists United States Naval Academy alumni University of Michigan alumni