John Fauvel (21 July 1947 – 12 May 2001) was a British mathematician and historian of mathematics.

Education

Fauvel was from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, where his father was a principal. Ian Blair was a cousin. John attended

Trinity College, Glenalmond Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond, Perth and Kinross, River Almond near the village of Methven, Pert ...

. He then studied mathematics at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

, where he graduated in 1970, and at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

, where he obtained his master's degree in 1973. In 1977, he obtained his

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

from the University of Warwick under the supervision of David Orme Tall, with a thesis entitled ''Fuzzy Theory''.

Career

From 1974, Fauvel worked at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

. From 1991 to 1994, he was President of the

British Society for the History of Mathematics The British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) was founded in 1971 to promote research into the history of mathematics at all levels and to further the use of the history of mathematics in education. The BSHM is concerned with all per ...

and he also edited its newsletter. From 1992 to 1996, he directed an international study group on the relations between history and mathematics pedagogy, which is affiliated with the International Commission for Mathematical Education (ICMI), and in 2000 he co-directed a major study of ICMI. In 1998, he was invited lecturer by the New Zealand Mathematical Society. Fauvel was a visiting scholar in the Mathematics Department at

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

on several occasions, including one on a

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

during the Winter and Spring of 1999. Fauvel died on 12 May 2001 of complications from liver disease.

Publications

Fauvel is known as an editor of books on the

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 ...

, several of which have been translated. * * * * * Edited with

Jeremy Gray Jeremy John Gray (born 25 April 1947) is an English mathematician primarily interested in the history of mathematics. Biography Gray studied mathematics at the University of Oxford from 1966 to 1969, and then at Warwick University, obtaining h ...

: ''The history of mathematics: A reader''. Macmillan, 1987; * Edited with Bengt Johansson, Frank Swetz, Otto Bekken, and

Victor J. Katz Victor Joseph Katz (born 31 December 1942, Philadelphia) is an American mathematician, historian of mathematics, and teacher known for using the history of mathematics in teaching mathematics. Biography Katz received in 1963 from Princeton Unive ...

Learn from the Masters
MAA, 1994. * * *

References

External links

* . 1947 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Scottish mathematicians People educated at Glenalmond College Alumni of the University of Essex Alumni of the University of Warwick Academics of the Open University British historians of mathematics {{UK-mathematician-stub