Samuel Webber (1759 – July 17, 1810) was an American

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, and the 13th

president of Harvard University The president of Harvard University is the chief academic administration, administrator of Harvard University and the ''Ex officio member, ex officio'' president of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard Corporation. Each is appoin ...

from 1806 until his death in 1810.

Biography

Webber was born in

Byfield, Massachusetts Byfield is a village (also referred to as a "parish") in the town of Newbury, Massachusetts, Newbury, in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It borders West Newbury, Massachusetts, West Newbury, Georgetown, ...

, in 1759. He was educated at Dummer Academy (now known as

The Governor's Academy The Governor's Academy (informally known as Governor's or Govs) is a co-educational, college-preparatory day and boarding school in Byfield, Massachusetts. Established in 1763 in memory of Massachusetts governor William Dummer, Governor's is ...

) and

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

( B.A., 1784; M.A., 1787) where he distinguished himself in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. He was a member of the Hasty Pudding. Webber was ordained as

minister in 1787 and two years later became Hollis Professor of Mathematick and Natural Philosophy at Harvard. He served in the commission that drew the boundaries, later recognized by the Treaty of Paris, between the new

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and the surrounding

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provinces. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) 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, and other ...

in 1789 and also served as vice-president of the Academy. He authored ''System of Mathematics'', which for many years served as the only textbook on the subject in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. Webber was appointed

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of Harvard in 1806. That same year he received an honorary

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degree from that institution. He led Harvard until his death in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 17, 1810.

Family

Webber's son, Samuel Jr., married Anna Winslow Green, a granddaughter of David Mathews,

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under the

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Webber's son, also named Samuel (September 15, 1797

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

– December 5, 1880 Charlestown, New Hampshire), was a distinguished

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and author.

Works

* “Introduction” to Jedidiah Morse, ''American Universal Geography'', 1796 (revision) * ''System of Mathematics'', (2 vols.), 1801 * ''Eulogy on President Willard'', 1804

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Samuel 18th-century American mathematicians 19th-century American mathematicians Harvard College alumni Presidents of Harvard University American Congregationalists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1759 births 1810 deaths Hollis Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy Hasty Pudding alumni The Governor's Academy alumni