Person: Beatty, Samuel
Samuel Beatty was a Canadian mathematician who was the first person to receive a PhD in mathematics from a Canadian university.
Mathematical Profile (Excerpt):
- After obtaining his undergraduate degree from Toronto, Beatty went on the undertake research for a Ph.D. under Fields's supervision.
- When Beatty was awarded a doctorate in 1915 he became the first to obtain such a degree from a Canadian university.
- Beatty was the only student who Fields supervised for a doctorate.
- Beatty was appointed as a Lecturer at the University of Toronto after studying for his doctorate.
- When he was appointed, Alfred Baker was his Head of the Mathematics Department, but in 1918 Baker retired and A T DeLury, who had taught Beatty when he was an undergraduate, became Head.
- Beatty was promoted to Professor, then in 1934 became Head of the Mathematics Department.
- Kohn, a young chemist of enormous potential, could not gain access to the chemistry buildings during the war because of his German nationality, and Dean Beatty was instrumental in helping him to continue his studies.
- Beatty did not publish a large number of research articles.
- We explain what Beatty did.
- The two sequences are called 'Beatty sequences' and have the property that every natural number appears in one and only one of the two sequences.
- Perhaps Beatty's greatest contribution to mathematics in Canada was his bringing Brauer and Coxeter to the Department in 1935 - 36.
- Of all the founding members, Beatty was perhaps the most determined to improve the level of mathematical achievement in Canada through the setting up of such a mathematical society.
- Beatty was elected as the first President of the Society.
- Beatty remained President until 1952, but was honoured with re-elected for a second three year term in 1956-59.
- Another venture led by Beatty was organising a series of Mathematical Expositions to be produced by the Department.
- After he retired as Head of the Mathematics Department and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science in 1952 the Samuel Beatty Fund was set up by his friends and former students.
Born 21 August 1881, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Died 3 July 1970, Toronto, Canada.
View full biography at MacTutor
Tags relevant for this person:
Origin Canada
Thank you to the contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0! 
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- non-Github:
- @J-J-O'Connor
- @E-F-Robertson
References
Adapted from other CC BY-SA 4.0 Sources:
- O’Connor, John J; Robertson, Edmund F: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
