Florian Cajori: The First Professor Of The History Of Mathematics In America

In early twentieth century, the center of the history of mathematics was transferring from Europe to the America. During this period, American scholars began to rise. Finally,with unremitting e?orts, they established the history of mathematics in the United States of America. Among them, Cajori made outstanding contributions. In 1918, he became the professor of the history of mathematics, doubtless the ?rst man ever to receive this title. In 1859, Cajori was born in the Switzerland who completed his career in America.He published 14 monographs, 5 textbooks and more than 260 papers in his life, and his name had been a familiar one throughout the world, recalling a genial personality and a proli?c writer. In 1930, he died at his home in Berkeley, in the seventy-?rst year of his age. The memory of the beauty of his personality lingers as a precious, fragrant, and inspiring possession of hosts of his students and friends, left behind for a space.This paper is a biography of Cajori. Through iteration research, it reviews professor Cajori’s resume and the academic way and introduces his representative work. It introduces academic organizations attended by Cajori. Finally, this paper lists commemorations about Cajori. The main contents of this paper are as follows:1. This paper outlines the life of Cajori. He was born in Switzerland and completed his career in America. Cajori has worked for twenty-nine years in the Colorado College.He was not only a dean of a new school of engineering, but also established of the Colorado College Scienti?c Society and founded a journal. In 1918 he was called to the University of California to accept the position of professor of the history of mathematics, doubtless the ?rst man ever to receive this title.2. This paper analyzes Cajori’s work in detail. According to the topic of Cajori’s academic papers, I classify his papers based on the internal logic. The changes of Cajori’s life have a great in?uence on his academic papers that I analyze from the chart.Introducing professor Cajori’s representative work: A History of Mathematics, A History of Physics in its Elementary Branches including the Evolution of Physical laboratories,A History of Mathematical Notations. Through the description of the ?rst chapter, I analyze the logical relationship between Cajori’s experience and academic paper. His paper seems to be a wide range of topics, actually linked together.3. This paper introduces academic organizations attended by Cajori. Cajori was one of the founders of the Mathematical Association of America. Cajori was vice-president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and chairman of Section L(Historical and Philological Sciences) in 1923; vice-president of the History of Science Society in 1924.4. This paper lists commemorations about Cajori. In 1896, the Mathematics Department of Colorado College has instituted a Cajori Prize. In 2015, the Mathematics Department of Colorado College formally has renamed Palmer Hall 126 as the Florian Cajori Classroom during the centennial of Mathematical Association of America. The Cajori crater on the Moon was named by International Astronomical Union.