PREFACE
During the years 1901-1904 Dr. Alexander Macfarlane delivered, at Lehigh University, lectures on twenty-five British mathematicians of the nineteenth century. The manuscripts of twenty of these lectures were discovered in 1916, three years after the death of their author, to be almost ready for the printer, and ten of them, on ten pure mathematicians, were then published in Monograph No. 17 of this series. Lectures on ten mathematicians whose main work was in physics, astronomy, and engineering are given in this volume.
These lectures were given to audiences composed of students, instructors and townspeople, and each occupied less than an hour in delivery. It should hence not be expected that a lecture can fully treat of all the activities of a mathematician, much less give critical analyses of his work and careful estimates of his influence. It is felt by the editors, however, that the lectures will prove interesting and inspiring to a wide circle of readers who have no acquaintance at first hand with the works of the men who are discussed, while they cannot fail to be of special interest to older readers who have such acquaintance.
It should be borne in mind that expressions such as "now," "recently," "ten years ago," etc., belong to the year when a lecture was delivered. On the first page of each lecture will be found the date of its delivery.
For five of the portraits given in the frontispiece the editors are indebted to the kindness of Dr. David Eugene Smith, of Teachers College, Columbia University. A portrait of Dr. Macfarlane will be found on page 4 of Monograph No. 17.
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