Barbara McMartin
Encyclopedia
Barbara McMartin was an American mathematician who became an environmentalist and author of books on the Adirondack Mountains
.
. Her father was physician D. Malcolm McMartin, and mother was Barbara Clark McMartin. She was valedictorian of the Class of 1949 of Johnstown High School
. She graduated from Vassar College
, cum laude in Mathematics
in 1964, received a master's degree from Hunter College
, and in 1972 she received a PhD in mathematics from the Graduate Division of City University of New York
.
Her dissertation was "One Relator Metabelian Groups" under advisors Gilbert Baumslag
, Wilhelm Magnus
, and Joan Landman Dyer.
In 1972 McMartin turned from mathematics and became involved in the environmental movement in the Adirondacks where her primary focus was the nature, culture, and management in the Park. She served as vice-president the Adirondack Mountain Club
and the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks and was a member of many environmental groups.
Between 1972 and 2005 she wrote 25 books, both guide books and histories of the Adirondacks. She wrote and maintained the popular eleven book Discover series which covers all regions of the Adirondack Park for outdoors people. Her other guides include: The Adirondack Park, A Wildlands Quilt; Fifty Hikes in the Adirondacks; Fifty Hikes in the Hudson Valley; and three books for young people, on hiking, camping, and canoeing.
In 1976 she completed Caroga, an Adirondack Town Recalls its Past. Her other histories include: Hides, Hemlocks and Adirondack History, The Great Forest of the Adirondacks, To the Lake of the Skies (story of the Benedicts), The Glove Cities, Perspectives on the Adirondacks, The Privately Owned Adirondacks and Adirondack Timeline. She also wrote a series of pamphlets and Citizen's Guides for the Adirondack Park Agency
.
She served on New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
advisory committees: the High Peaks Advisory Committee from 1974 to 1978 and the Forest Preserve Advisory Committee from 1979 to 2003. She chaired the Forest Preserve Advisory Committee from 1979 to 2003 where she helped write many policies.
She served as volunteer curator at the Caroga Historical Museum and at the Fulton County Museum. She had photograph exhibits of her work and published many magazine articles. In 1992 she chaired the NYS Adirondack Park Centennial.
She received a Founder's Day Award from the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake as well as both the Adirondack Communicator and Adirondack Heritage Awards from the Adirondack Council.
She died September 27, 2005 in Canada Lake, New York
. Her second husband, James Joseph Patterson
predeceased her. She was survived by her third husband Walter Alexander Reid.
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
.
Life
Barbara McMartin was born November 18, 1931 in Johnstown, New YorkJohnstown (city), New York
Johnstown is a city and the county seat of Fulton County in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 Census, the city had population of 8,511. Recent estimates put the figure closer to 8,100. The city was named by its founder, Sir William Johnson after his son John Johnson...
. Her father was physician D. Malcolm McMartin, and mother was Barbara Clark McMartin. She was valedictorian of the Class of 1949 of Johnstown High School
Johnstown High School
Johnstown High School is a high school located at 1 Sir Bills Circle, in Johnstown, New York. The school provides education in grades 9-12, and offers summer school for pupils who fail classes...
. She graduated from Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
, cum laude in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
in 1964, received a master's degree from Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
, and in 1972 she received a PhD in mathematics from the Graduate Division of City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
.
Her dissertation was "One Relator Metabelian Groups" under advisors Gilbert Baumslag
Gilbert Baumslag
Gilbert Baumslag is a Distinguished Professor at the City College of New York, with joint appointments in mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering. He is director of the Center for Algorithms and Interactive Scientific Software, which grew out of the MAGNUS computational group...
, Wilhelm Magnus
Wilhelm Magnus
Wilhelm Magnus was a mathematician. He made important contributions in combinatorial group theory, Lie algebras, mathematical physics, elliptic functions, and the study of tessellations....
, and Joan Landman Dyer.
In 1972 McMartin turned from mathematics and became involved in the environmental movement in the Adirondacks where her primary focus was the nature, culture, and management in the Park. She served as vice-president the Adirondack Mountain Club
Adirondack Mountain Club
The Adirondack Mountain Club is a nonprofit organization founded in 1922. It has approximately 35,000 members. The ADK is dedicated to the protection and responsible recreational use of the New York State Forest Preserve, parks, wild lands, and waters; it conducts extensive conservation, and...
and the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks and was a member of many environmental groups.
Between 1972 and 2005 she wrote 25 books, both guide books and histories of the Adirondacks. She wrote and maintained the popular eleven book Discover series which covers all regions of the Adirondack Park for outdoors people. Her other guides include: The Adirondack Park, A Wildlands Quilt; Fifty Hikes in the Adirondacks; Fifty Hikes in the Hudson Valley; and three books for young people, on hiking, camping, and canoeing.
In 1976 she completed Caroga, an Adirondack Town Recalls its Past. Her other histories include: Hides, Hemlocks and Adirondack History, The Great Forest of the Adirondacks, To the Lake of the Skies (story of the Benedicts), The Glove Cities, Perspectives on the Adirondacks, The Privately Owned Adirondacks and Adirondack Timeline. She also wrote a series of pamphlets and Citizen's Guides for the Adirondack Park Agency
Adirondack Park Agency
The Adirondack Park Agency was created in 1971 by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller as a governmental agency that performs long-range planning for the future of the Adirondack Park. It oversees development plans of private land-owners as well as activities within the Adirondack Forest Preserve...
.
She served on New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible for the conservation, improvement, and protection of natural resources within the U.S. state of New York. It was founded in 1970, replacing the previous Conservation Department...
advisory committees: the High Peaks Advisory Committee from 1974 to 1978 and the Forest Preserve Advisory Committee from 1979 to 2003. She chaired the Forest Preserve Advisory Committee from 1979 to 2003 where she helped write many policies.
She served as volunteer curator at the Caroga Historical Museum and at the Fulton County Museum. She had photograph exhibits of her work and published many magazine articles. In 1992 she chaired the NYS Adirondack Park Centennial.
She received a Founder's Day Award from the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake as well as both the Adirondack Communicator and Adirondack Heritage Awards from the Adirondack Council.
She died September 27, 2005 in Canada Lake, New York
Caroga, New York
Caroga is a town in Fulton County, New York, USA. The population was 1,407 at the 2000 census. The town was named after a local creek.The Town of Caroga is in the northern part of the county and is north of Gloversville and Johnstown....
. Her second husband, James Joseph Patterson
James Joseph Patterson
James Joseph Patterson was an American newspaper executive who was part of an influential publishing family.-Life:Patterson was born in England in 1923 and raised in Ossining, New York....
predeceased her. She was survived by her third husband Walter Alexander Reid.