Background
Leonard Eugene Dickson was born on January 22, 1874, in Independence, Iowa, United States. He was the son of Campbell, a banker, merchant, and real estate investor, and Lucy Tracy Dickson.
Both the University of Chicago and Harvard University welcomed Dickson as a Ph.D. student, and Dickson initially accepted Harvard's offer, but chose to attend Chicago instead. In 1896, when he was only 22 years of age, he was awarded Chicago's first doctorate in mathematics, for a dissertation titled The Analytic Representation of Substitutions on a Power of a Prime Number of Letters with a Discussion of the Linear Group, supervised by E. H. Moore.
Dickson attended the University of Texas at Austin, where George Bruce Halsted encouraged his study of mathematics. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1893 and a Master of Science in 1894, under Halsted's supervision.
Both the University of Chicago and Harvard University welcomed Dickson as a Ph.D. student, and Dickson initially accepted Harvard's offer, but chose to attend Chicago instead. In 1896, when he was only 22 years of age, he was awarded Chicago's first doctorate in mathematics, for a dissertation titled The Analytic Representation of Substitutions on a Power of a Prime Number of Letters with a Discussion of the Linear Group, supervised by E. H. Moore.
(This 1st volume in the series History of the Theory of Nu...)
This 1st volume in the series History of the Theory of Numbers presents the material related to the subjects of divisibility and primality. This series is the work of a distinguished mathematician who taught at the University of Chicago for 4 decades and is celebrated for his many contributions to number theory and group theory.
https://www.amazon.com/History-Theory-Numbers-Divisibility-Mathematics-ebook/dp/B00GUBO9SM/?tag=2022091-20
1919
(The three-volume series History of the Theory of Numbers ...)
The three-volume series History of the Theory of Numbers is the work of the distinguished mathematician Leonard Eugene Dickson, who taught at the University of Chicago for four decades and is celebrated for his many contributions to number theory and group theory. This second volume in the series, which is suitable for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, is devoted to the subject of diophantine analysis.
https://www.amazon.com/History-Theory-Numbers-Diophantine-Mathematics/dp/0486442330/?tag=2022091-20
1920
(This work was to meet the numerous needs of the student i...)
This work was to meet the numerous needs of the student in regard to his earlier and future mathematical courses that the present book was planned with great care and after wide consultation.
https://www.amazon.com/Course-Theory-Equations-Leonard-Dickson/dp/1449500498/?tag=2022091-20
1922
(The three-volume series History of the Theory of Numbers ...)
The three-volume series History of the Theory of Numbers is the work of the distinguished mathematician Leonard Eugene Dickson, who taught at the University of Chicago for four decades and is celebrated for his many contributions to number theory and group theory. This final volume in the series, which is suitable for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, is devoted to quadratic and higher forms. It can be read independently of the preceding volumes, which explore divisibility and primality and diophantine analysis.
https://www.amazon.com/History-Theory-Numbers-III-Mathematics/dp/0486442349/?tag=2022091-20
1923
(Distinctive features of thia book are ite immediate justi...)
Distinctive features of thia book are ite immediate justification of the study of trigonometry, its emphasis on the practical applications, its sensible problems, its model solutions of sample problems, its concretens, simplicity, and clearness, and its use of a traverse table in addition to the usual tables.
https://www.amazon.com/Trigonometry-Practical-Applications-Classic-Reprint/dp/B008KC7W24/?tag=2022091-20
Leonard Eugene Dickson was born on January 22, 1874, in Independence, Iowa, United States. He was the son of Campbell, a banker, merchant, and real estate investor, and Lucy Tracy Dickson.
Dickson attended the University of Texas at Austin, where George Bruce Halsted encouraged his study of mathematics. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1893 and a Master of Science in 1894, under Halsted's supervision. Dickson first specialised in Halsted's own specialty, geometry.
Both the University of Chicago and Harvard University welcomed Dickson as a Ph.D. student, and Dickson initially accepted Harvard's offer, but chose to attend Chicago instead. In 1896, when he was only 22 years of age, he was awarded Chicago's first doctorate in mathematics, for a dissertation titled The Analytic Representation of Substitutions on a Power of a Prime Number of Letters with a Discussion of the Linear Group, supervised by E. H. Moore.
Dickson then went to Leipzig and Paris to study under Sophus Lie and Camille Jordan, respectively.
Upon his return to the United States, Dickson began his career in mathematics. After a one-year stay at the University of California as instructor in mathematics, in 1899 he accepted an associate professorship at the University of Texas. One year later he returned to the University of Chicago, where he spent the rest of his career, except for his leaves as visiting professor at the University of California in 1914, 1918, and 1922. He was assistant professor from 1900 to 1907, associate professor from 1907 to 1910, and professor from 1910 to 1939.
He supervised the dissertations of at least fifty-five doctoral candidates and helped them obtain a start in research after graduation. In 1928 he was appointed to the Eliakim Hastings Moore distinguished professorship.
Dickson was a prolific mathematician. His eighteen books and hundreds of articles covered many areas in his field. In his study of finite linear groups, he generalized the results of Galois, Jordan, and Serret for groups over the field of elements to groups over an arbitrary finite field. He also expanded upon the Cartan and Wedderburn theories of linear associative algebras. He studied the relationships between the theory of invariants and number theory.
He later wrote his monumental three-volume History of the Theory of Numbers, in which he investigated diophantine equations, perfect numbers, abundant numbers, and Fermat’s theorem. In a long series of papers after 1927 on additive number theory, he proved the ideal Waring theorem, using the analytic results of Vinogradov.
He served as an editor of the Monthly at American Mathematical Society from 1902 to 1908 and of the Transactions from 1911 to 1916. He was also a president of the American Mathematical Society from 1916 to 1918.
(Distinctive features of thia book are ite immediate justi...)
(The three-volume series History of the Theory of Numbers ...)
1920(The three-volume series History of the Theory of Numbers ...)
1923(This work was to meet the numerous needs of the student i...)
1922(This 1st volume in the series History of the Theory of Nu...)
1919While Dickson believed that mathematics was the queen of the sciences, he held further that number theory was the queen of mathematics.
Quotations: "It is a lucky thing that newspaper reporters do not attend these meetings. If they did, they would see how little our activities are related to the real needs of society." - L. E. Dickson, during a discussion period that followed the presentation of a paper at a meeting of the American Mathematical Society, where he criticized the choice of the paper’s topic.
In addition to his election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1913, Dickson was a member of the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the London Mathematical Society, and he was a correspondent of the Academy of the French Institute.
At the university Dickson's students and colleagues regarded him highly as a scholar and a teacher.
It appears that Dickson was a hard man. A hard-bitten character, Dickson tended to speak his mind bluntly; he was always sparing in his praise for the work of others. He indulged his serious passions for bridge and billiards and reportedly did not like to lose at either game.
He delivered terse and unpolished lectures and spoke sternly to his students. Given Dickson's intolerance for student weaknesses in mathematics, however, his comments could be harsh, even though not intended to be personal. He did not aim to make students feel good about themselves.
Dickson married Susan Davis on December 30, 1902; their children were Campbell and Eleanor.