William Woolsey Johnson (1841–1927) was an American

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 ...

, who was one of the founders of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

Life and work

Johnson, son of a farmer of

Tioga County, New York Tioga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,455. Its county seat is Owego. Its name derives from an American Indian word meaning "at the forks", describing a meeting place. Tioga Cou ...

, studied at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

where he received his BA in 1862. After two years serving in the Nautical Almanac Office in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

, he began his academic career as assistant professor in the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

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, but soon transferred to Annapolis, Maryland, from 1864 to 1869. In 1870 he was appointed professor of mathematics at

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is ...

and since 1872 at St. John's College (Annapolis). In 1881 he returned to the Naval Academy as full professor where he remained until his retirement in 1921. He served as one of the five members of the Council of the

for the 1892–1893 term and he was one of the impulsors of the birth of the

Bulletin Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * Bulletin (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Debate, ...

of the Society and one of his main first contributors. Johnson is mainly remembered by his books on differential calculus, basing it on related rates. He is also known to be the first on probing the conditions of solvability of the

15 puzzle The 15 puzzle (also called Gem Puzzle, Boss Puzzle, Game of Fifteen, Mystic Square and many others) is a sliding puzzle having 15 square tiles numbered 1–15 in a frame that is 4 tiles high and 4 tiles wide, leaving one unoccupied tile position ...

Selected publications

Articles

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Books

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References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, William Woolsey 19th-century American mathematicians 1841 births 1927 deaths Woolsey family