Walter Helbig Gottschalk, American mathematician, educator. Member American Mathematics Society (associate editor proceedings 1954-1956, associate secretary for East 1971-1976), Mathematics Association American, Society Industrial and Applied Mathematics, American Association of University Professors, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi.
Background
Gottschalk was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, on November 3, 1918, and moved to Salem, Virginia as a child. His father, Carl Gottschalk, was a German immigrant who worked as a machinist and later owned several small businesses in Salem. His younger brother, Carl W. Gottschalk, became a notable medical researcher
Education
Bachelor of Science, University Virginia, 1939. Master of Arts, University Virginia, 1942. Doctor of Philosophy in Math, University Virginia, 1944.
Master of Arts (honorary), Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 1964.
Career
After graduating, he joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, and was chair of the Pennsylvania mathematics department from 1954 to 1958. In the academic year 1947/1948 he was a visiting scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study. At Pennsylvania, his students included Philip Rabinowitz, known for his work in numerical analysis.
Gottschalk moved to Wesleyan University in 1963.
At Wesleyan, he also served two terms as chair before retiring in 1982. He died on February 15, 2004, in Providence, Rhode Island, where he had lived since his retirement.
Member American Mathematics Society (associate editor proceedings 1954-1956, associate secretary for East 1971-1976), Mathematics Association American, Society Industrial and Applied Mathematics, American Association of University Professors, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi.
Connections
Married Margaret Hemsworth, August 27, 1952. Children: Heather, Steven.