Walter Warwick Sawyer (or W. W. Sawyer) (April 5, 1911– February 15, 2008) was a

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, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, mathematics educator and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, who taught on several continents.

Life and career

Walter Warwick Sawyer was born in St. Ives, Hunts, England on April 5, 1911. He attended Highgate School in London. He was an undergraduate at

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, obtaining a BA in 1933 and specializing in

quantum theory Quantum theory may refer to: Science *Quantum mechanics, a major field of physics *Old quantum theory, predating modern quantum mechanics * Quantum field theory, an area of quantum mechanics that includes: ** Quantum electrodynamics ** Quantum ...

and relativity. He was an assistant lecturer in mathematics from 1933 to 1937 at

University College, Dundee A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and from 1937 to 1944 at

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

. From 1945 to 1947, he was the head of mathematics at Leicester College of Technology. In 1948 Sawyer became the first head of the mathematics department of what is now the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

. From 1951 to 1956, he was at Canterbury College (now the University of Canterbury in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

). He left Canterbury College to become an associate professor at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

, where he worked from winter 1957 through June 1958. While there, he criticized the

New Math New Mathematics or New Math was a dramatic but temporary change in the way mathematics was taught in American grade schools, and to a lesser extent in European countries and elsewhere, during the 1950s1970s. Curriculum topics and teaching pract ...

movement, which included the people who had hired him. From 1958 to 1965, he was a professor of mathematics at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

, where he edited ''Mathematics Student Journal''. In the fall of 1965 he became a professor at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, appointed to both the College of Education and the Department of Mathematics. He retired in 1976. Sawyer was the author of some 11 books. He is probably best known for his semi-popular works ''Mathematician's Delight'' and ''Prelude to Mathematics''. Both of these have been translated into many languages. ''Mathematician's Delight'' was still in print 65 years after it was written. Some mathematicians have credited these books with helping to inspire their choice of a career. Sawyer died on February 15, 2008, at the age of 96. He is survived by a daughter, Anne León (Artist) and granddaughter, Anita León (Educator).

Partial bibliography

*''Mathematician's Delight'', (Penguin, 1943), is probably his best known book. *''Mathematics in Theory and Practice'', (Odhams, 1952) *''Prelude to Mathematics'' (Penguin, 1955) Link is to Dover edition *''Designing and Making'', (Blackwell, 1957) *''A Concrete Approach to Abstract Algebra'', (Freeman, 1959) *''What Is Calculus About?'', (Yale University, 1961) *''Vision in Elementary Mathematics'', (Penguin, 1964) *''A Path to Modern Mathematics'', (Penguin, 1966) *''Search for Pattern'', (Penguin, 1970) *''An Engineering Approach to Linear Algebra'', (Cambridge University Press, 1972) *''A First Look at Numerical Functional Analysis'', (Oxford University Press, 1978)

Notes

External links

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Walter Warwick Sawyer information and materials
1911 births 2008 deaths 20th-century English mathematicians People educated at Highgate School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Wesleyan University faculty Academic staff of the University of Toronto British expatriates in Ghana British expatriates in New Zealand British expatriates in the United States British expatriates in Canada {{Academic-bio-stub