Philip Martin Whitman is an American mathematician who contributed to

lattice theory A lattice is an abstract structure studied in the mathematical subdisciplines of order theory and abstract algebra. It consists of a partially ordered set in which every pair of elements has a unique supremum (also called a least upper boun ...

, particularly the theory of

free lattice In mathematics, in the area of order theory, a free lattice is the free object corresponding to a lattice. As free objects, they have the universal property. Formal definition Any set ''X'' may be used to generate the free semilattice ''FX''. The f ...

s. Living in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, he attended the

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...

, where he earned a corporation scholarship for 1936–37, and a Clementine Cope fellowship for 1937–38, and was awarded highest honors in mathematical astronomy in 1937. He was elected to the college's chapter of the

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...

. In June 1937, he was conferred the

Bachelor of science degree A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

from Haverford. According to

Garrett Birkhoff Garrett Birkhoff (January 19, 1911 – November 22, 1996) was an American mathematician. He is best known for his work in lattice theory. The mathematician George Birkhoff (1884–1944) was his father. Life The son of the mathematician Geo ...

, Whitman was an undergraduate

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

student in 1937, and an outstanding graduate student not later than 1940, one of the first who taught elementary courses to freshmen in the mathematics department. In 1938 he earned his AM, and in June 1941 he obtained his Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. He was a member of the

AMS AMS or Ams may refer to: Organizations Companies * Alenia Marconi Systems * American Management Systems * AMS (Advanced Music Systems) * ams AG, semiconductor manufacturer * AMS Pictures * Auxiliary Medical Services Educational institutions * A ...

not later than 1947, and was awarded an AMS honorary membership not later than 1995.Notices of the AMS Vol.42, No.12
Dec.1995, p. 1555

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * *

References

*
Haverford College Bulletin, Vol. 35–36, 1936–1938

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitman, Philip Martin Lattice theorists 20th-century American mathematicians Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Haverford College alumni Harvard University alumni