Richard Davis Anderson

Richard Davis Anderson, Sr. (17 February 1922 – 4 March 2008) was an American mathematician known internationally for his work in infinite-dimensional topology. Much of his early work focused on proofs surrounding Hilbert space and Hilbert cubes.

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Life

Richard Anderson and his twin brother, John, were born February 17, 1922 in Hamden, Connecticut. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Minnesota in 1941, after just two years of study. He went on to graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied under R. L. Moore. His graduate work was interrupted by World War II. Two days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the United States Navy. During his term in the U. S. Navy, he served on the USS Rocky Mount. After returning from the war, he finished his doctoral work at the University of Texas and went on to teach mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania, where he went through the ranks of Instructor, Assistant Professor, and Associate Professor. During this time he also spent two years at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He then accepted a post at Louisiana State University, where he became the university's first Boyd Professor of mathematics. Boyd professor is Louisiana State University's highest professor rank. ["Award for Distinguished Service to Professor R. D. Anderson." "The American Mathematical Monthly", Vol. 85, No. 2 (Feb., 1978), pp. 73-74] [ [http://at.yorku.ca/i/a/a/b/40.htm The Students of R. L. Moore: Preliminary Report (13 January 2000) by Ben Fitpatrick, Jr ] ]

Accomplishments

* Served as vice president of the American Mathematical Society in 1972 and 1973.
* Served as president of the Mathematical Association of America in 1981 and 1982.
* Served as chair of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents in 1984.
* Received the Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics from the Mathematical Association of America in 1978.
* Received the Bolzano Medal from the Czechoslovakian Academy of Sciences in 1981.
* Invited lectures at conferences and colloquia in many places in the USA and in cities of 21 other countries.

References