Louis Charles Karpinski (5 August 1878 – 25 January 1956) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
mathematician.
Background
Louis Charles Karpinski was born on August 5, 1878, in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
. His parents were Henry Hermanagle Karpinski of
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, and Mary Louise Engesser of Guebweiler, Alsace. He was educated at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
and in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
at
Strassburg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the E ...
. Karpinski also studied (1909–1910) at
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
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.
Career
At Columbia, Karpinski became a fellow and a university extension lecturer. He taught at Berea College and at
Oswego, New York
Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port ...
at the Normal School there. Then, he accepted a position at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, where by 1919 he became full
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
of mathematics. Dr. Karpinski devoted his attention chiefly to the history and
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
of mathematics.
Books
An authority on the history of science, Karpinski was collaborator on the ''Archivo di Storia della Scienza'' and author of ''The Hindu-Arabic Numerals'', with
David Eugene Smith
David Eugene Smith (January 21, 1860 – July 29, 1944) was an American mathematician, educator, and editor.
Education and career
David Eugene Smith is considered one of the founders of the field of mathematics education. Smith was born in Cortl ...
(1911), ''Robert of Chester's Latin Translation of the Algebra of Al-Khowarizmi'' (1915), and
''Unified Mathematics'', with H. Y. Benedict and J. W. Calhoun (1913), and subsequently produced other publications. He served as the president of the History of Science Society from 1943–44.
[The History of Science Societ]
"The Society: Past Presidents of the History of Science Society"
, accessed 4 December 2013
''The Hindu-Arabic Numerals''(with David Eugene Smith). Boston: Ginn and Company, 1911.
''Robert of Chester's Latin Translation of the Algebra of Al-Khowarizmi'' with an Introduction, Critical Notes and an English Version. New York: Macmillan Co., 1915.
''Unified Mathematics''(with Harry Y. Benedict and John W. Calhoun). Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1918 and 1922.
* ''The History of Arithmetic''. Chicago: Rand McNally and Co., 1925.
* ''Bibliography of the Printed Maps of Michigan, 1804–1880''. Lansing: Michigan Historical Commission, 1931.
* ''Historical Atlas of the Great Lakes and Michigan''. Lansing: Michigan Historical Commission, 1931.
* ''Bibliography of Mathematical Works Printed in America through 1850''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1940.
See also
*
Robert of Chester
*
al-Khwārizmī
References
External links
LCK as a chess playerMathematics GenealogyLouis C. Karpinski Mathematics Textbook Database
*
*
1878 births
1956 deaths
20th-century American mathematicians
American science writers
Cornell University alumni
American historians of mathematics
Scientists from Rochester, New York
University of Michigan faculty
Mathematicians from New York (state)
Historians from New York (state)
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