Notable Mathematicians

"Time to meet an increase in the lives of mathematicians, this volume covers over 300 of them, from antiquity to the present. Many contemporary African-American, Asian-American, and Hispanic-American women are included. The alphabetically arranged entries contain a heading with name, birth and death dates, field of specialization, nationality, and ethnicity when applicable, as well as a picture when possible. An accompanying essay describes the life and significant contribution of the person to the field of mathematics with suggestions for further information, which include books, periodicals, documentaries, and Web sites. The list of milestones in mathematics begins at 50,000 BC with evidence of primitve counting and continues until the present."--"Outstanding Reference Sources : the 1999 Selection of New Titles", American Libraries, May 1999. Comp. by the Reference Sources Committee, RUSA, ALA.

Similar to other Gale titles such as Notable Twentieth Century Scientists [RBB F 1 95], this work offers biographical information on approximately 303 mathematicians throughout recorded history. There are more than 60 women mathematicians as well as 15 Asian American, African American, and Hispanic American mathematicians and approximately 30 mathematicians from countries outside North America and Western Europe. The criteria for inclusion are significant discoveries or inventions, overall impact on mathematical development, major awards received (for example, the Wolf Prize or the Copley Medal of the Royal Society), educational or organizational leadership, and notable "firsts," such as the invention of calculus.

Entries, which are arranged alphabetically, contain an entry head with name, birth and death dates, nationality and ethnicity where applicable, and primary field(s) of specialization. This is followed by a biographical essay that can range from 450 to 1,500 words and is written for the general reader (high-school level and without a math background). See also references are indicated by bold type. A list of selected writings by the subject, including individual papers, research works, lectures, and autobiographies, and a bibliography of further readings, with citations to both print and electronic sources, complete the entry.

Appended to the A^-Z section are a time line of important events in the history of mathematics; a selected list of major mathematical awards and prizes through 1997; and a selected bibliography of books, periodicals, and Web sites of general interest. There are several indexes: fields of specialization, gender, nationality, and subject. Line drawings and photographs enhance the text.

Although information on many of these individuals can be found elsewhere (another recent title, the Marshall Cavendish Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists [RBB My 15 98] has entries for 50 mathematicians), high-school, public, and college libraries needing more coverage of mathematicians will welcome this volume from Gale. The compilers explain that in 1989 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommended that students be taught the history of the discipline and the diverse culture that contributed to the development of mathematics--Notable Mathematicians was conceived to fill the need for such a work. The entries are easy to read, and the appendix and indexes are most helpful. For added coverage of women, libraries can also acquire Notable Women in Mathematics: A Biographical Dictionary (Greenwood, 1998), which covers 59 women from antiquity to the present, with emphasis on the twentieth century; there is overlapping coverage of approximately 25 women in the Gale and the Greenwood books.