Webster Wells (1851–1916) was an American mathematician known primarily for his authorship of mathematical textbooks.
Early life and career
Webster Wells was born at Roxbury, Massachusetts on September 4, 1851. His parents, Thomas Foster Wells (1822–1903) and Sarah Morrill Wells (1828–1897), initially named him Thomas Wells, but presumably after the death of the statesman
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harri ...
in 1852, renamed him Daniel Webster Wells,
and from at least 1860, he was known as Webster Wells.
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, a ...
, the Boston brewer and patriot, was a great-great-grandfather, and the poets
Thomas Wells (1790–1861) and
Anna Maria (Foster) Wells (1795–1868) were grandparents. The architect
Joseph Morrill Wells
Joseph Morrill Wells (1853–1890) was an American architect, known for his contributions to the work of the notable architecture firm of McKim, Mead & White. Wells is said to have admired the architects of the Italian Renaissance, especially Don ...
was his brother.
Beginning in 1863, Webster Wells studied at the
West Newton English and Classical School
West Newton English and Classical School, also known as the Allen School, was a model school in West Newton, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1854 by Nathaniel Topliff Allen (1823–1903), an educator and protege of Horace Mann ...
(aka The Allen School), West Newton, Massachusetts, and then attended the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...
from which he graduated in 1873 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Wells taught mathematics at
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, where he was successively instructor (1873–1880), assistant professor (1883), associate professor (1885), and full professor (1893–1911).
Personal life
Webster Wells married Emily Walker Langdon at Boston on June 21, 1876.
Wells died at Arlington, Massachusetts, on May 23, 1916, from the complications of
Huntington's Chorea
Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an unst ...
.
He was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery,
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus al ...
.
Textbooks
Wells' textbooks were used in many schools and colleges in the United States. Among the many titles were:
* Webster Wells. ''Elementary Treatise on Logarithms'' (Boston, MA: Robert S. Davies Co., 1878).
* Webster Wells. ''University Algebra'' (Boston MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1880), one of "Greenleaf's Mathematical Series."
* Webster Wells. ''Practical Textbook on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry'' (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1883).
* Webster Wells. ''A Complete Course in Algebra for Academies and High Schools'' (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1885).
* Webster Wells. ''The Elements of Geometry'' (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1886).
* Webster Wells. ''Plane and Solid Geometry'' (1887).
* Webster Wells. ''The Essentials of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry'' (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1887).
* Webster Wells. ''Plane Trigonometry'' (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1887).
* Webster Wells. ''Four-place Logarithmic Tables'' (1888).
* Webster Wells. ''A Short Course in Higher Algebra'' (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1889), one of "Wells' Mathematical Series."
* Webster Wells. ''College Algebra'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1890).
* Webster Wells. ''An Academic Arithmetic for Academies, High and Commercial Schools'' (1893, 1899).
* Webster Wells. ''Plane Trigonometry'' (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1893), one of "Wells' Mathematical Series."
* Webster Wells. ''Revised Plane and Solid Geometry'' (1894).
* Webster Wells. ''New Plane and Spherical Trigonometry'' (1896).
* Webster Wells. ''Essentials of Algebra for Secondary Schools'' (Norwood MA: Norwood Press, 1897).
* Webster Wells. ''New Higher Algebra'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1897, 1899).
* Webster Wells. ''The Essentials of Geometry (Solid)'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1899).
* Webster Wells. ''Complete Trigonometry'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1901, copyright 1900).
* Webster Wells. Factoring (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1902), one of “Heath’s Mathematical Monographs.”
* Claribel Gerrish and Webster Wells. ''The Beginner's Algebra'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1902).
* Webster Wells. ''Advanced Course in Algebra'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1904).
* Webster Wells. ''Algebra for Secondary Schools'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1906, 1909).
* Webster Wells. ''New Plane Geometry'' (1908).
* Webster Wells. ''New Plane and Solid Geometry'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1909).
* Webster Wells and Walter W. Hart. ''First Year Algebra'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co. 1912).
* Webster Wells. ''New High School Algebra'' (1912).
* Webster Wells. ''Second Course in Algebra'' (1913).
* Webster Wells and Walter W. Hart. ''Plane Geometry'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1915), one of "Wells and Hart's Mathematics Series."
* Webster Wells. ''Plane and Solid Geometry'' (1916).
Posthumous editions
* Webster Wells. ''Modern Algebra: Second Course'' (1920).
* Webster Wells. ''Modern First Year Algebra'' (1923).
* Webster Wells. ''Modern Algebra: Second Course'' (1925).
* Webster Wells and Walter W. Hart. ''Modern First Year Algebra, Revised'' (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., copyright 1928).
See also
*
Joseph Morrill Wells
Joseph Morrill Wells (1853–1890) was an American architect, known for his contributions to the work of the notable architecture firm of McKim, Mead & White. Wells is said to have admired the architects of the Italian Renaissance, especially Don ...
, architect; Webster Wells’ brother
*
Anna Maria Wells
Anna Maria Wells (née Foster; 1795–1868) was a 19th-century poet and a writer of children’s literature. The poet and editor Sarah Josepha Hale wrote that Wells, as a child, had a "passionate love of reading and music," and began to write vers ...
, poet; Webster Wells’ grandmother
*
Frederick A. Wells
Frederick Adams Wells (October 13, 1857 – March 12, 1926) was an American businessman and politician from New York (state), New York.
Personal life
Wells was born in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York on October 13, 1857, the son of James Wells ...
, politician, Webster Wells' second cousin
*
John Witt Randall
John Witt Randall (November 6, 1813 – January 25, 1892) was a minor poet and, for a brief time, a naturalist, but is best known for the collection of drawings and engravings that he bequeathed to Harvard University.
Early life
Randall was bo ...
, art collector; Webster Wells’ first cousin once removed
References
Bibliography
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*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Webster
1851 births
1916 deaths
Mathematics educators
Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Writers from Massachusetts
People from Boston
Neurological disease deaths in Massachusetts
Deaths from Huntington's disease
People with Huntington's disease