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Cournot, Antoine Augustin

(Encyclopedia)Cournot, Antoine Augustin äNtwänˈ ōgüstăNˈ ko͞ornōˈ [key], 1801–77, French mathematician and economist. He developed mathematical theories of chance and probability and was one of the firs...

Snell, Willebrord

(Encyclopedia)Snell or Snellius, Willebrord vĭlˈəbrôrt snĕl, snĕlēəs [key], 1591–1626, Dutch mathematician. He is generally credited with the discovery (1621) of the law of the refraction of light. In 161...

Randolph College

(Encyclopedia)Randolph College, at Lynchburg, Va.; United Methodist; est. 1891 as Randolph-Macon Woman's College, opened 1893, renamed and coeducational since 2007. Until 1953 it had a shared administration with Ra...

Göttingen

(Encyclopedia)Göttingen götˈĭng-ən [key], city, Lower Saxony, central Germany, on the Leine River. It is ...

Kronecker, Leopold

(Encyclopedia)Kronecker, Leopold lāˈōpôlt krōˈnĕkˌər [key], 1823–91, German mathematician. After making a fortune in business he devoted his attention to mathematics and became professor at the Univ. of ...

Coffin, James Henry

(Encyclopedia)Coffin, James Henry, 1806–73, American mathematician and meteorologist, was professor of mathematics and physics, Lafayette College, 1846–73. In an observatory which he built on Mt. Greylock, Mass...

Urquhart, Sir Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Urquhart or Urchard, Sir Thomas both: ûrˈkərt [key], 1611–60, Scottish translator and author. A royalist, he was knighted (1641) by Charles I and fought in the civil wars. He wrote treatises on m...

Institute for Advanced Study

(Encyclopedia)Institute for Advanced Study, at Princeton, N.J.; chartered 1930, opened 1933. It differs from a university in that it offers no curriculum or examinations, and confers no degrees. Founded with a gift...

Pearson, Karl

(Encyclopedia)Pearson, Karl, 1857–1936, English scientist. He studied law, taught geometry, and applied mathematics and mechanics, and in 1911 became professor of eugenics at the Univ. of London and director of t...

Kircher, Athanasius

(Encyclopedia)Kircher, Athanasius ätänäˈzēo͝os kĭrkhˈər [key], 1601?–1680, German Jesuit archaeologist, mathematician, biologist, philologist, astronomer, musicologist, and physicist. One of the world's ...