Charles Stanley Ogilvy (1913–2000) was an American mathematician, sailor, and author. He was a professor of mathematics at

Hamilton College (New York) Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

, and a frequent competitor at the

Star World Championship The Star World Championship are international sailing regattas in the Star class organized by the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association and sanctioned by World Sailing. American sailor Lowell North has won the most titles, with fi ...

s. His many books include works on both mathematics and sailing....

Sailing

Ogilvy grew up sailing near

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

, on the mainland side of the

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. Beginning in 1931 he crewed for Howard McMichael on the two-man

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

class ''Grey Fox'', and in 1934 he bought the boat and renamed it the ''Jay''. He won over 47 regattas, and was a frequent competitor in the

Star World Championships The Star World Championship are international sailing regattas in the Star class organized by the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association and sanctioned by World Sailing. American sailor Lowell North has won the most titles, with fi ...

; his best finishes were second in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

(crewing for Hilary Smart) and third in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

and

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

(both with his own boat, ''Flame''). Later, he also sailed

Etchells The International Etchells Class is one-design sailboat racing class, designed by American Skip Etchells. Production The first 36 boats were built by Skip Etchells and the Old Greenwich Boat Company between 1967 and 1969. In the early 1970s ...

. Ogilvy belonged to the

Larchmont Yacht Club Larchmont Yacht Club is a private, members-only yacht club situated on Larchmont Harbor (Long Island Sound), Larchmont Harbor in the Larchmont, New York, Village of Larchmont, in Westchester County, New York (state), New York. History The cl ...

for 62 years, and served as its historian. He was the first vice president of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association, edited its publications for many years, and also served as historian for the class. In 1990, Ogilvy was the second recipient of the Harry Nye Memorial Trophy of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association, in recognition of his contributions to Star class sailing. The C. Stanley Ogilvy Masters Trophy, an antique

sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of cel ...

awarded to a sailor over the age of 50, was named in his honor and has been presented annually by the Etchells World Championships since 1999.

Education and career

Ogilvy went to the

Berkshire School Berkshire School is a private, co-educational boarding school located in Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA. People About 87% of Berkshire's 430 students are boarders, while 13% are day students. The U.S. students hail from 30 states. The 77 inte ...

, then did his undergraduate studies at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, his bad eyesight preventing him from serving in the Navy; instead he became the commander of a rescue boat on the Pacific Front for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. After earning an M.A. from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and an M.S. at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and doing additional studies at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, Ogilvy finished his graduate studies with a PhD in mathematics from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 1954. His thesis, supervised by Walter R. Baum, was entitled ''An Investigation of Some Properties of Asymptotic Lines on Surfaces of Negative Gaussian Curvature''. Ogilvy began his teaching career at

Trinity College (Connecticut) Trinity College is a private liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Founded as Washington College in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut. Coeducational since 1969, the college enrolls 2,2 ...

, and joined the faculty of

in 1953. He chaired the mathematics department beginning in 1969, and was a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. He remained at Hamilton until 1974, when he retired so that he could spend more of his time sailing. Ogilvy died on June 21, 2000, in

Mamaroneck, New York Mamaroneck ( ), is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 31,758 at the 2020 United States census over 29,156 at the 2 ...

Books

Ogilvy wrote many books on both mathematics and sailing, which were translated into several other languages. They include: * ''Successful Yacht Racing'' (Norton, 1951) * ''Through the Mathescope'' (Oxford Univ. Press, 1956). Later republished as ''Excursions in Mathematics''.. * ''Tomorrow's Math: Unsolved Problems for the Amateur'' (Oxford Univ. Press, 1962) * ''Thoughts on Small Boat Racing'' (Van Nostrand, 1966) * ''Excursions in Number Theory'' (with John T. Anderson, Oxford Univ. Press, 1966) * ''Excursions in Geometry'' (Oxford Univ. Press, 1969). * ''Win More Sailboat Races'' (Norton, 1976) * ''A History of the Star Class: The First Eighty Years'' (International Star Class Yacht Racing Association, 1991) * ''The Larchmont Yacht Club: A History, 1880–1990'' (Larchmont Yacht Club, 1993)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogilvy, Charles Stanley 1913 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians Alumni of the University of Cambridge American male sailors (sport) Columbia University alumni Etchells class sailors Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Hamilton College (New York) faculty Writers from New Rochelle, New York Star class sailors Syracuse University alumni Trinity College (Connecticut) faculty Williams College alumni Mathematicians from New York (state) 20th-century American sportsmen