Wealthy Babcock
Wealthy Consuelo Babcock (born November 11, 1895 in Washington County (Kansas) , United States , † April 10, 1990 in Lawrence (Kansas) ) was an American mathematician and university professor.
life and work
Babcock graduated from Washington County High School in 1913 and taught at one-room rural schools in Washington County for two years. In 1916 she began her mathematics studies at the University of Kansas , where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1919 and then taught for a year at Neodesha High School in southeast Kansas. In 1920 she returned to the University of Kansas as a lecturer and continued her studies. In 1922 she earned her master's degree and received her doctorate in 1926 with Ellis Bagley Stouffer with a minor in physics . The title of her dissertation was: On the Geometry Associated with Certain Determinants with Linear Elements. In 1926 she was promoted to assistant professor, in 1940 to associate professor and retired in 1966. While teaching, she was in charge of the mathematics department library for thirty years, so in 1966 the name was changed to Wealthy Babcock Mathematics Library in recognition of her years of service for the library. In 1973 she was elected to the University of Kansas Hall of Fame. In 1977 she received the Fred Ellsworth Medallion, the University of Kansas Alumni Association's highest honor for her service to the university. Scholarships awarded on their behalf at the University of Kansas are the Black-Babcock Scholarship and the Wealthy Babcock Scholarship.
Memberships
- Mathematical Association of America
- American Mathematical Society
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Sigma Xi
- Pi Mu Epsilon
Publications (selection)
- 1929: On the geometry associated with certain determinants with linear elements. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 19
- 1923: A new method of determining sufficient conditions for real roots of equations. Amer. Math. Monthly 30
- 1927: Some important points in the development of the theory of determinants. Amer. Math. Monthly 34
literature
- Judy Green, Jeanne LaDuke: Pioneering Women in American Mathematics: The Pre-1940 PhD's, 2009, ISBN 978-0-8218-4376-5 .
- Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie: The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century, 2000, ISBN 978-0415920384
- Bernice Smysor: Built by Love: The Wealthy Babcock Mathematics Library, University of Kansas, 1977
- Wealthy C. Babcock, ”Lawrence Journal-World, April 11, 1990
Web links
- biography
- Wealthy Babcock in the Mathematics Genealogy Project (English)
- Biography at Women's Hall of Fame, KU Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equality
- Professor Tom Levin, “Interview with Wealthy Babcock,” Oral History of the Retirees Club, The University of Kansas, Summer of 1985
- Solomon Lefschetz on Wealthy Babcock
- Image of the tombstone
- List of scholarships at the University of Kansas
- Ellsworth Former Recipients
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Babcock, Wealthy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Babcock, Wealthy Consuelo |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American mathematician and university professor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 11, 1895 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Washington County (Kansas) |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 10, 1990 |
| Place of death | Lawrence (Kansas) |