Edwin Ford Beckenbach | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1906-07-18)July 18, 1906 |
| Died | September 5, 1982(1982-09-05) (aged 76) Syracuse, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Rice University |
| Known for | Inequalities |
| Spouse(s) | Madelene Shelby Simons, Alice Judson Curtiss |
| Children | 3 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | University of Michigan,Rice University,UCLA,Rand Corporation |
| Doctoral advisor | Lester R. Ford |
Edwin Ford Beckenbach (July 18, 1906 – September 5, 1982) was an American mathematician.
Beckenbach was born July 18, 1906, inOak Cliff,Dallas County, Texas, the son of a leather worker and on his father's side the grandson of immigrants from Germany. In 1924, he began study atRice University, where in 1929 he earned a master's degree and in 1931 a PhD under the direction ofLester R. Ford. As a postdoc, he was a National Research Fellow atPrinceton University,Ohio State University, and theUniversity of Chicago. In 1933, he was an instructor at Rice University and from 1940 an assistant professor at theUniversity of Michigan. In 1942, Beckenbach became an associate professor at the University of Texas and was from 1945 a professor atUCLA. At UCLA, he led the development of the graduate program in mathematics. The first mathematics PhD was granted under his direction as thesis advisor.
Beckenbach was also a leader in the founding (in 1948) of the Institute of Numerical Analysis, which was then a branch of theNational Bureau of Standards. His institute developed in 1948 and 1949 a vacuum-tube computer (SWAC), which began operation in July 1950 and was for a short time the fastest computer in the world. In 1974 he retired from UCLA as professor emeritus. From 1949 to 1963, he was a consultant for theRand Corporation and in the academic year 1951/1952 he was a visiting professor at theInstitute for Advanced Study.[1]
In the academic year 1958/59 he was a Guggenheim Fellow atETH Zürich. WithFrantišek Wolf, Beckenbach founded in 1951 thePacific Journal of Mathematics, of which he was the first editor. In 1983, he received the Distinguished Service Award from theMathematical Association of America. TheBeckenbach Book Prize, first awarded in January 1985, is named in his honor.
Beckenbach was famous for his work on inequalities and for this subject organized threeOberwolfach seminars (in 1976, 1978, and 1981). He was a co-author of several college textbooks in mathematics, including algebra, trigonometry, and analytic geometry.[2]
From 1933 to 1960, he was married to Madelene Shelby Simons and had from this marriage a son and two daughters. In 1960, the marriage ended in divorce and in the same year he married his second wife Alice Judson Curtiss.[3]
He died on September 5, 1982, inSyracuse, New York.
