| Nathaniel Bowditch | |
,_American_mathematician_and_actuary.jpeg/200px-Nathaniel_Bowditch_(1773-1838),_American_mathematician_and_actuary.jpeg) Bowditch is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation.
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| Born | March 26, 1773 Salem, Massachusetts |
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| Died | March 16, 1838 (aged 64) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Mathematician, ship's captain, and actuary. Events 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. Year 1773 ( MDCCLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of Mathematics. Captain is the traditional customary title given to the person in charge in command of a Ship at sea An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty |
Nathaniel Bowditch (March 26, 1773 – March 16, 1838) was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. Events 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. Year 1773 ( MDCCLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of Mathematics. Navigation is the process of reading and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book The New American Practical Navigator, first published in 1802, is still carried onboard every commissioned U.S. Naval vessel. History The most popular navigational text of the late 18th centurywas The New Practical Navigator by John Hamilton Moore.
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Life and work
Bowditch, the fourth of seven children, was born in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the age of ten, he was made to leave school to work in his father's cooperage, before becoming indentured at twelve for nine years as a bookkeeping apprentice to a ship chandler. Traditionally a cooper is someone who makes Wooden staved vessels of a conical form of greater length than breadth bound An Indenture is a legal Contract between two parties particularly for indentured labour or a term of Apprenticeship but also for certain land Bookkeeping (also book-keeping or book keeping) is the recording of all Financial transactions undertaken by an individual or Organization (including A ship chandler is a Retail dealer in special supplies or equipment for ships
In 1787, aged fourteen, Bowditch began to study algebra and two years later he taught himself calculus. Algebra is a branch of Mathematics concerning the study of structure, relation, and Quantity. Calculus ( Latin, calculus, a small stone used for counting is a branch of Mathematics that includes the study of limits, Derivatives He also taught himself Latin in 1790 and French in 1792 so he was able to read mathematical works such as Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (ˈnjuːtən 4 January 1643 31 March 1727) Biography Early years See also Isaac Newton's early life and achievements The Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica ( Latin: "mathematical principles of natural philosophy" often Principia At seventeen, he wrote a letter to a Harvard University professor pointing out an error in the Principia; at eighteen, he copied all the mathematical papers he found in the Transactions of the Royal Society of London. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 Among his many significant scientific contributions would be a translation of Pierre-Simon Laplace's Méchanique céleste, a lengthy work on mathematics and theoretical astronomy.
Serendipity aided Bowditch's self-directed study in as much as he found himself able to use the eminent Irish chemist Richard Kirwan's library: a privateer from Salem had intercepted the ship carrying the library between Ireland and England and brought the library back to Salem in June 1791. Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate especially while looking for something else entirely Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is self-education or self-directed learning Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world A chemist is a Scientist trained in the Science of Chemistry. Richard Kirwan FRS ( August 1, 1733 &ndash June 22, 1812) was an Irish Scientist. A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping
In 1795, Bowditch went to sea on the first of four voyages as a ship's clerk and captain's writer. Year 1795 ( MDCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a His fifth voyage was as master and part owner of a ship. Captain is the traditional customary title given to the person in charge in command of a Ship at sea Following this voyage, he returned to Salem in 1803 to resume his mathematical studies and enter the insurance business. (One of his family homes in Salem, the Nathaniel Bowditch House, still exists and has recently been restored. The Nathaniel Bowditch House (circa 1805 sometimes called by Bowditch-Osgood House, is a Historic house located at 9 North Street Salem Massachusetts )
In 1802, Harvard University awarded Bowditch an honorary Master of Arts degree.
In 1804, Bowditch became America's first insurance actuary as president of the Essex Fire and Marine Insurance Company in Salem. An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty Under his direction, the Company prospered despite difficult political conditions and the War of 1812. The War of 1812 was fought between the United States of America and the British Empire, particularly Great Britain and her North American colonies
Bowditch's mathematical and astronomical work during this time earned him a significant standing, including election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1799 and the American Philosophical Society in 1809. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS is an organization dedicated to scholarship and the advancement of learning The American Philosophical Society is a discussion group founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin as an offshoot of his earlier club the Junto. He was offered the chair of mathematics and physics at Harvard in 1806, but turned it down. In 1804, an article on his observations of the Moon was published and in 1806 he published naval charts of several harbors, including Salem. More scientific publications followed, including a study of a meteor explosion (1807), three papers on the orbits of comets (1815, 1818, 1820) and a study of the Lissajous figures created by the motion of a pendulum suspended from two points (1815). In Physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of one object around a point or another body for example the gravitational orbit of a planet around a star A comet is a small Solar System body that orbits the Sun and when close enough to the Sun exhibits a visible coma (atmosphere or a tail — In Mathematics, a Lissajous curve ( Lissajous figure or Bowditch curve) is the graph of the system of Parametric equations A pendulum is a mass that is attached to a pivot from which it can swing freely
As well as Harvard, the United States Military Academy and the University of Virginia offered Bowditch chairs in mathematics. "USMA" redirects here For other uses see USMA (disambiguation The United States Military Academy (also known as USMA, The University of Virginia (also called UVa, UVA, Mr Jefferson's University, or The University) is a highly selective public research Bowditch again refused these offers, perhaps (in the case of the University of Virginia) because the $2,000 salary offered was two-thirds of the salary he received as president of the insurance company.
Bowditch's translation of the first four volumes of Laplace's Traité de mécanique céleste was completed by 1818. Publication of the work, however, was delayed for many years, most likely due to cost. Nonetheless, he continued to work on it with the assistance of Benjamin Peirce, adding commentaries that doubled its length. Benjamin Peirce (ˈpɜrs purse) April 4, 1809 – October 6, 1880) was an American Mathematician who
By 1819, Bowditch's international reputation had grown to the extent that he was elected as a member of the Royal Societies of Edinburgh and London and the Royal Irish Academy. The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland 's National academy of science and letters The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 The Royal Irish Academy ( RIA) (Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann is an all-Ireland, independent academic body that promotes study and excellence in the Sciences
In 1823, Bowditch left the Essex Fire and Marine Insurance Company to become an actuary for the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company in Boston. There he served as a "money manager" (an investment manager) for wealthy individuals who made their fortunes at sea, directing their wealth toward manufacturing. Towns such as Lowell prospered as a result. Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census the city had a total population of 105167
Bowditch's move from Salem to Boston involved the transfer of over 2,500 books, 100 maps and charts and 29 volumes of his own manuscripts.
Bowditch's American Practical Navigator
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For more details on this topic, see American Practical Navigator. History The most popular navigational text of the late 18th centurywas The New Practical Navigator by John Hamilton Moore.
During his time at sea, Bowditch became intensely interested in the mathematics involved in celestial navigation. He worked initially with John Hamilton Moore's London-published "Navigator", which was known to have errors. To have exact tables to work from, Bowditch recomputed all of Moore's tables, and rearranged and expanded the work. He contacted the US publisher of the work, Edmund Blunt, who asked him to correct and revise the third edition on his fifth voyage. The task was so extensive that Bowditch decided to write his own book, and to "put down in the book nothing I can't teach the crew. " On that trip, it is said that every man of the crew of 12, including the ship's cook, became competent to take and calculate lunar observations and to plot the correct position of the ship.
In 1802 Mr. Year 1802 ( MDCCCII) was a Common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Blunt published the first edition of Bowditch's American Practical Navigator, which became the western hemisphere shipping industry standard for the next century and a half. History The most popular navigational text of the late 18th centurywas The New Practical Navigator by John Hamilton Moore. The text included several solutions to the spherical triangle problem that were new, as well as extensive formulae and tables for navigation. In 1866, the United States Hydrographic Office purchased the copyright and since that time the book has been in continuous publication, with regular revisions to keep it current. Bowditch's influence on the American Practical Navigator was so profound that to this day mariners refer to it by simply as Bowditch. He was also called Nat.
Legacy
Nathaniel Bowditch died in Boston in 1838 from stomach cancer. He is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, where a monument to him was erected through public collections. Founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery" or the first " Rural cemetery " Mount Auburn Cemetery is an Elysium where traditionally
The statue itself, was the first life size bronze to be cast in America and was the creation of renowned sculptor, Robert Ball Hughes.
The following eulogy was written by the Salem Marine Society:
| “ | In his death a public, a national, a human benefactor has departed. Not this community nor our country only, but the whole world has reason to do honor to his memory. When the voice of eulogy shall cease to flow, no monument will be needed to keep alive his memory among men; but as long as ships shall sail, the needle point to the north, and the stars go through their wonted courses in the heavens, the name of Dr. Bowditch will be revered as of one who has helped his fellowmen in time of need, who was and is a guide to them over the pathless oceans, and one who forwarded the great interests of mankind. | ” |
The Oceanographic Survey Ship USNS Bowditch was named for him, as well as a lunar crater. Bowditch is a lunar crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just beyond the eastern limb
At Salem State College in Historic Salem, Massachusetts, the Bowditch Hall dormitory residence for undergraduates was named for him.
In 1955, a book for younger readers, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, was published, portraying Bowditch's life dramatized and fictionalized. Carry On Mr Bowditch is a novel by Jean Lee Latham that was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1956 A serious modern biography is Robert E. Berry's Yankee Stargazer published in 1941. Two middle schools and a dorm in America were also named for him, in Foster City, California, Salem, Massachusetts and Salem State College, respectively. Middle school or Junior High School serves as a "bridge" between the Elementary School and the High School Dormitory typically refers in the United States to residence halls which are sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for Foster City is an affluent Planned city located in San Mateo County California, 94404 Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. This article is for the state college in Salem Massachusetts For other uses see SSC Salem State College is a four-year public institution
See also
External links
- O'Connor, John J. In Mathematics, a Lissajous curve ( Lissajous figure or Bowditch curve) is the graph of the system of Parametric equations & Robertson, Edmund F. , “Nathaniel Bowditch”, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
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