Henry George Forder (27 September 1889 – 21 September 1981) was a New Zealand mathematician.

Academic career

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

, he won a scholarships first to a Grammar school and then to

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. After teaching mathematics at a number of schools, he was appointed to the chair of mathematics at

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in New Zealand in 1933. He was very critical of the state of the New Zealand curriculum and set about writing a series of well received

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

s. His ''Foundations of Euclidean Geometry'' (1927) was reviewed by F.W. Owens, who noted that 40 pages are devoted to "concepts of classes, relations, linear order, non archimedean systems, ..." and that order axioms together with a continuity axiom and a Euclidean

parallel axiom In geometry, the parallel postulate, also called Euclid's fifth postulate because it is the fifth postulate in Euclid's ''Elements'', is a distinctive axiom in Euclidean geometry. It states that, in two-dimensional geometry: ''If a line segm ...

are the required foundation. The object achieved is a "continuous and rigorous development of the uclideandoctrine in the light of modern investigations." In 1929 Forder obtained drawings and notes of Robert William Genese on the

exterior algebra In mathematics, the exterior algebra, or Grassmann algebra, named after Hermann Grassmann, is an algebra that uses the exterior product or wedge product as its multiplication. In mathematics, the exterior product or wedge product of vectors is a ...

of Grassmann. He relied on methods of H. F. Baker in ''Principles of Geometry'' to extend Genese's beginning into a complete development with applications throughout geometry. When ''The Calculus of Extension'' appeared in 1941 it was reviewed by Homer V. Craig: "The theorem density is exceptionally high and consequently despite the superior exposition it is not an easy book to work straight through – perhaps the key chapters suffer from a lack of recapitulation... tprovides the best exposition of the fundamental processes of the ''Ausdehnungslehre'' and the most inclusive treatment of the geometrical applications available at present." Henry Forder was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1947 and received an honorary DSc from the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in 1959.

Forder lectureship

The Forder Lectureship was established jointly by the

London Mathematical Society The London Mathematical Society (LMS) is one of the United Kingdom's learned societies for mathematics (the others being the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), the Edinburgh Mathematical ...

and the

New Zealand Mathematical Society The New Zealand Mathematical Society is a New Zealand based learned society of mathematicians. It is listed by the Royal Society of New Zealand as the affiliate organisation responsible for mathematics research, and by the International Mathematical ...

in his honour in 1986.

Selected works

* 1927:
The Foundations of Euclidean Geometry
' via

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* 1930: ''A School Geometry'' * 1931: ''Higher Course Geometry'' * 1941:
The Calculus of Extension
' via Internet Archive * 1950:
Geometry
' via Internet Archive * 1953: ''Coordinates in Geometry''

References

* John C. Butcher (1985) "Obituary: Henry George Forder", ''

Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society The London Mathematical Society (LMS) is one of the United Kingdom's Learned society, learned societies for mathematics (the others being the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), the Edinburg ...

'' 17(2): 161 {{DEFAULTSORT:Forder, Henry George Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand People educated at Paston College Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge People from Shotesham English emigrants to New Zealand University of Auckland alumni University of Auckland faculty 1889 births 1981 deaths Textbook writers 20th-century New Zealand mathematicians Geometers