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Source document: unpublished seminar notes written by C.J. Seelye, Professor of Mathematics, Victoria University of Wellington, dated 31 May 1974.
Some keywords in the header are a local Electronic Text Centre scheme to aid in establishing analytical groupings.
Mathematics has had its place in the 75 years of the history of this institution. This sketch of past years will deal with the Professors, the Staff, students and syllabuses.
Richard Cockburn Maclaurin was born in Scotland in 1870. His family claims as a forbear Colin Maclaurin (1698-1746) whose mathematical series is well-known.
Professor Maclaurin was reckoned to be the most intellectual of the four foundation professors. He was a much admired person, astonishingly brilliant, versatile, charming, already a figure in the English university scene with the choice of two careers before him. Some quixotic streak in his make up impelled him to do the patriotic thing and repay his debt to New Zealand and bury himself in an obscure, poorly paid, laborious post in a commercial town profoundly indifferent to higher eduction. His modesty was coupled with worldly wisdom. He had a 5-year contract and intended returning to Europe. He joined the Wellington Club and a very select Masonic Lodge. He was a highly polished raconteur and was a good teacher (so the historian says but one distinguished O.C. told me he found the lectures pretty dull; they were often over the heads of the first year students who were rather left to feel their inferiority). His inaugural lecture contained references to non-euclidian geometry, to
In 7 years he had but 3 honours students. He prepared a book: a Treatise in the Theory of Light. After a time he undertook to teach law and received the title of Dean of the Faculty of Law.
In 1907 he accepted the Chair of Mathematical Physics at Columbia University, N.Y. "It cannot be said that our citizens knew either what they had harboured or what they had lost, for ordinary man with difficulty understand the transcendental".
After a year at New York he went to a moribund institution at Boston and within a decade had virtually created the M.I.T. and wore himself out with a President's fund raising activities which realised 8 million dollars. He died in 1920 in his 50th year.
David K Picken a native of Glasgow went thence with a brilliant degree to Cambridge and returned as chief assistant to the Glasgow Professor. He was selected to our Chair (over Sommerville who was to succeed him and
He published a trigonometry text with proper emphasis on trig functions as mathematical functions. He retained an interest in the foundations of mathematics.
In 1915 he became Master of Ormond College, Melbourne a post he held in 1943. Writing for the 1949 Golden Jubilee he remembers with admiration and affection the strong corporate personal life here, the exceptional leadership of student bodies and the happy relation of student leaders with their professorial seniors.
He was succeeded in 1915 by
I had been warned at Wellington College before I arrived as a fresher in 1930 that Sommerville was a stickler for accuracy and precision and I imagined a slick, severe type of man. Hence at my very first lecture Applied Mathematics I at 9 a.m. on Monday, I wondered who the quietly dressed lecturer was with his weather beaten face, wiry hair, twinkling soft blue eyes and softly spoken voice. Afterward repeating students were able to confirm this was indeed the feared Professor.
He taught me particularly to admire elegance in mathematics and I enjoyed his steady precise style although some of my competent contemporaries recall that they found him rather remote and sometimes "up in the clouds". But he was universally respected and we always spoke of "dear old Sommy". In 1933 he began the course with us two honours students (my colleague later became a Professor of Anthropology in U.S.A.) taking us in his study for the first two weeks but then was off duty with a heart condition. He really determined my career. I was primarily a physics student who did mathematics as well. He kindly gave me a copy of his recommendation when I applied for a travelling scholarship. This flattered my mathematical ability, gave me a swelled head and encouraged me to take mathematics more seriously. When he heard at the N.Z. University office of my success in getting honours he mentioned to
F F Miles "Freddie" Miles had a brilliant intellect and with a Rhodes Scholarship left Otago for Oxford to have his studies interrupted by a lengthy service in the Great War. In all, he gained "firsts" in History, French, and Mathematics. In 1922 he applied for a lectureship in mathematics here and also for
He retired prematurely and suddenly at about 58 years of age when he suffered a sustained bout of depression. He announced his intention to me at afternoon tea one day, so I prepared to take over his stage II geometry lecture for 8 a.m. the next morning. Subsequently after shock treatment he recovered and spent a happy retirement at Christchurch but died a few years ago.
J T Campbell Miles was succeeded in 1952 by J T Campbell who had been his assistant since 1935. Campbell was a most energetic, lively person. Born in Scotland, he was brought up in Gisborne, graduated from Otago and did his Ph.D. in Statistics at Edinburgh under the late
Campbell's writing was distinctive and students claimed it took a year to learn how to decode it.
Although an enthusiast for statistics he was loath to have it included as a formal degree subject but he gave special non-credit courses to interested groups. He established an excellent liaison between our Department and secondary school teachers of mathematics. He retired at the beginning of 1969. Given the status of Emeritus Professor he now lives in retirement at Nelson.
Meanwhile in 1962 a second chair was established for Applied Mathematics and
Professor J C Ward F.R.S. came to succeed Mackie but after a very brief stay moved on to Macquarrie. I got this chair in 1967 and automatically succeeded to the headship when Campbell retired.
Initially the one professor took all the classes and in the 20's he gained a regular assistant.
In 1946 a third permanent post was established to be filled by D Patterson who came from teaching at Gore.
Senior lectureships were a newly established grade at this time and I transferred in 1947 from the Meteorological office when a further position was advertised. The fifth place which became available in 1953 attracted Dr J C Burns who stayed ten years before moving on to Canberra and currently to the chair at Duntroon.
During the 1960's the departments' establishment grew from 7 to 21 and now in 1974 stands at 23, with a new lecturer due to arrive next month.
A feature of the department has been the stability of the staffing. Apart from those mentioned, the only other lecturers since 1947 to leave were: Ross Renner who went as head mathematics lecturer to the U.S.P. in Suva, Paul Scott who in Adelaide is now writing a series of secondary school text-books and Bob Northcote who is soft-ware manager for I.C.L. with a base in Adelaide, Bruce Payne who has merely transferred via the Information Science department to our Computing Services Centre and Mrs Shirley Pledger who however is able this year to return in a part-time capacity. Moreover all the staff had an earlier association with the Department until very recently, the exceptions being Chris Grigson direct from Adelaide and
There have been 35 junior lecturers since 1947, one remained to be promoted through to reader, six left to return to permanent positions later and our present establishment provides for four.
Of the 35 at least 11 have gained Ph.D. somewhere.
Of the 98 foundation students, 37 enrolled in the first month for mathematics.
With the complication of credits, it is now usual to reduce numbers to "Equivalent full-time students", and these stand in the 300's during the 1970's.
The numbers of students successful with a masters degree until to 1965 or with the honours degree thereafter are tabulated. Those who are known to have subsequently passed a doctorate are noted.
By this, 11 have so far gained our M.Sc. since 1966 and three Ph.D.s have been awarded since 967.
Over the past 27 years honours graduates proceeded to (or changed to) the following occupations in 162 cases where we have some information.
Probably a considerable number of the unknown people ultimately went to teaching.
Originally there were "Pass" and "Advanced" undergraduate courses, then three stages in a subject. Syllabuses were very static for the mid 1920's to 1947. A standard syllabus applied to each unit throughout the N.Z. universities. Formal term exams were held and then overseas examiners dealt with all advanced and honours trades for the final degree examinations. Once a candidate had to pass at least two units at one time (except for the final unit to complete his degree).
Some local changes since 1943 are mentioned. In 1943 Calculus was introduced into stage I rather than initially at stage II and the trigonometry component was considerably reduced and Pure Mathematics III had a third paper in its finals. Applied I then allowed some elementary calculus in its mechanics and vector methods were more prominent. In 1949 a third year level course in Mathematical Physics was introduced. By 1958 when we became a separate university, each institution had its own syllabuses. In 1959 Applied III was revised with the introduction of some gravitational theory, and vector calculus. Group and matrix theory had a more definite place at honours level. In 1963 Mathematical Physics was cancelled but an Applied II unit was introduced to fill the gap between Applied I and III. The full unit of Statistical Mathematics II was also instituted. Continuum Mechanics appeared in the Applied III syllabus. In 1965 Statistical and Numerical Mathematics III was begun and the old M.Sc.(Hons), a six paper exam, was replaced by B.Sc.(Hons), a five paper exam. There were then 3 compulsory papers and a choice of 2 out of 5 others.
So during the last 10 years there has been a steady revision and diversification and within subjects the most noticeable changes have been probably in algebra. Future courses are being considered to deal with the history of mathematics and a special course for teachers. A Diploma of Operations Research & Statistics is to be introduced in 1975.