David Wilson Henderson (February 23, 1939 – December 20, 2018) was a Professor Emeritus of Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. His work ranges from the study of topology, algebraic geometry,

history of mathematics The history of mathematics deals with the origin of discoveries in mathematics and the History of mathematical notation, mathematical methods and notation of the past. Before the modern age and the worldwide spread of knowledge, written examples ...

and exploratory mathematics for teaching prospective mathematics teachers. His papers in the

philosophy of mathematics Philosophy of mathematics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of mathematics and its relationship to other areas of philosophy, particularly epistemology and metaphysics. Central questions posed include whether or not mathem ...

place him with the intuitionist school of philosophy of mathematics. His practical geometry, which he put to work and discovered in his carpentry work, gives a perspective of geometry as the understanding of the infinite spaces through local properties.Henderson, D. W. (1990). ''Experiencing Geometry on Plane and Sphere'', Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Euclidean geometry Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to ancient Greek mathematics, Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry, ''Euclid's Elements, Elements''. Euclid's approach consists in assuming a small set ...

is seen in his work as extendable to the spherical and hyperbolic spaces starting with the study and reformulation of the 5th postulate. He was struck by an automobile in a pedestrian crosswalk on December 19, 2018, and died the next day from his injuries.

References

Bibliography

* Henderson, D. W. & Taimina, D. (2001). ''Crocheting the Hyperbolic Plane'', ''Mathematical Intelligencer'', vol.23, No. 2, 2001, pp. 17–28. * Henderson, D. W. & Taimina, D. (2001). ''Essays in Mathematics?'' (Latvian), Skolotajs (Teacher journal), 4(28), 2001, Riga, pp. 27–31. * Henderson, D. W. & Taimina, D. (2001). ''Geometry'', ''The Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Mathematics''. * Henderson, D. W. & Taimina, D. (2004). ''Non-Euclidean Geometries'', ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. * Henderson, D. W. & Taimina, D. (2005). ''Experiencing Geometry: Euclidean and non-Euclidean with History'', Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. * Taimina, D. & Henderson, W. (2005). ''How to Use History to Clarify Common Confusions in Geometry'', MAA Notes volume No.68, p. 57-73. * Taimina, D. & Henderson, D. W. (2005). ''Experiencing Geometry: Euclidean and Non-Euclidean with History'', 3rd Edition.-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. * Taimina, D. & Henderson, D. W. (2020) " Experiencing Geometry: Euclidean and non-Euclidean with History", 4th Edition, open source ''Project Euclid'' https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.bia/1598805325 * Taimina, D. & Henderson, D. W. (2006). ''Experiencing Meanings in Geometry'', in Nathalie Sinclair, David Pimm, William Higginson eds, ''Mathematics and the Aesthetic'', Springer, pp. 58–83.

External links

Personal webpage

David W. Henderson and Daina Taimina, Experiencing Meanings of Geometry, Chapter 3 in Aesthetics and Mathematics, (edited by David Pimm and M. Sinclair), Springer-Verlag. 2006, p.58-83.pdf.
* In Search of Meaning (Biography of David W. Henderson

Cornell University faculty 21st-century American mathematicians 2018 deaths Place of birth missing 1939 births 20th-century American mathematicians {{US-mathematician-stub