Raymond Woodard Brink (4 January 1890 in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

– 27 December 1973 in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

) was an American mathematician. His Ph.D. advisor at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

was

George David Birkhoff George David Birkhoff (March21, 1884November12, 1944) was one of the top American mathematicians of his generation. He made valuable contributions to the theory of differential equations, dynamical systems, the four-color problem, the three-body ...

. Brink entered

Kansas State College Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public insti ...

at age 14 and by age 19 had two

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

s and was employed as an instructor of mathematics in

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city and the county seat of Latah County, Idaho. Located in the North Central Idaho, North Central region of the state along the border with Washington (state), Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 United States ...

; he taught at the state preparatory school of the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

. He returned to school at

and earned a doctorate in 1916 and was a longtime professor at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, and also authored numerous math textbooks. He served as president of the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary edu ...

from 1941–42.

Personal

Brink was the husband of author

Carol Ryrie Brink Carol Ryrie Brink (December 28, 1895 – August 15, 1981) was an American writer of over thirty juvenile and adult books. Her novel ''Caddie Woodlawn'' won the 1936 Newbery Medal and a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. Lifetime Caroline S ...

, whom he had met during his first year in Idaho when both were teenagers. She was nearly six years his junior; they wed nine years later in 1918, following her graduation from college. Married for over 55 years at the time of his death, they had two children,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and Nora (Hunter). David (b. 1919) became an attorney and later headed the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

References

* * *''Who Was Who in America: with World Notables. 1982-1985'' (), by Marquis Who's Who, 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brink, Raymond Woodard 1890 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians Harvard University alumni Kansas State University alumni Presidents of the Mathematical Association of America University of Minnesota faculty