Frank Lauren Hitchcock
Encyclopedia
Frank Lauren Hitchcock was an American
mathematician
and physicist
notable for vector analysis. He formulated the transportation problem in 1941. He was also an expert in mathematical chemistry
and quaternions.
and at Kenyon College
in Gambier, Ohio
. In 1910 he completed his PhD at Harvard with a thesis entitled, Vector Functions of a Point.
, Fargo
, and then he moved to become a professor of mathematics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
) and his father was Elisha Pike Hitchcock. His parents married on 27 June 1866. He had two sisters, Mary E. Hitchcock and Viola M. Hitchcock. He also had two brothers George P. Hitchcock and Ernest Van Ness Hitchcock. He was born in New York
but raised in Pittsford
, Vermont
. He was descended from New England
forebears.
He married Margaret Johnson Blakely (d. May 22, 1925) in Paris
, France
on May 25, 1899. They had three children, Lauren Blakely (b. March 18, 1900), John Edward (b. January 28, 1906, d. July 26, 1909), and George Blakely, January 12, 1910. At the time of his death he had 11 grandchildren and 6 great-grandsons.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
notable for vector analysis. He formulated the transportation problem in 1941. He was also an expert in mathematical chemistry
Mathematical chemistry
Mathematical chemistry is the area of research engaged in novel applications of mathematics to chemistry; it concerns itself principally with the mathematical modeling of chemical phenomena...
and quaternions.
Education
He first attended the Phillips Andover Academy. He received his AB from Harvard in 1896. Before his PhD he taught at ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and at Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
in Gambier, Ohio
Gambier, Ohio
Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2000 census.Gambier is the home of Kenyon College and was named after one of Kenyon College's early benefactors, Lord Gambier....
. In 1910 he completed his PhD at Harvard with a thesis entitled, Vector Functions of a Point.
Career
In 1904–1906 he was a professor of chemistry at North Dakota State UniversityNorth Dakota State University
North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, more commonly known as North Dakota State University , is a public university in Fargo, North Dakota. NDSU has about 14,000 students and it is the largest university in North Dakota based on full time students and land size...
, Fargo
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
, and then he moved to become a professor of mathematics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
Personal life
His mother was Susan Ida Porter (b. 1 January 1848, Middlebury, VermontVermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
) and his father was Elisha Pike Hitchcock. His parents married on 27 June 1866. He had two sisters, Mary E. Hitchcock and Viola M. Hitchcock. He also had two brothers George P. Hitchcock and Ernest Van Ness Hitchcock. He was born in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
but raised in Pittsford
Pittsford, Vermont
Pittsford is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for William Pitt. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 2,991. Pittsford was first settled as a frontier town in 1769, about north of Bennington...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. He was descended from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
forebears.
He married Margaret Johnson Blakely (d. May 22, 1925) in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on May 25, 1899. They had three children, Lauren Blakely (b. March 18, 1900), John Edward (b. January 28, 1906, d. July 26, 1909), and George Blakely, January 12, 1910. At the time of his death he had 11 grandchildren and 6 great-grandsons.
Books by Hitchcock
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock and Clark S. Robinson, Differential Equations in Applied Chemistry, 1923.
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock, The Axes of a Quadratic Vector, 1921.
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock, On Double Polyadics, with Application to the Linear Matrix Equation, 1923.
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock, A Classification of Quadratic Vectors, 1917.
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock, Identities Satisfied by Algebraic Point Functions in N-space, 1923.
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock, A Method for the Numerical Solution of Integral Equations, 1923.
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock, The Coincident Points of Two Algebraic Transformations, 1924.
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock, Vector Functions of a Point, 1910.
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock, An Identical Relation Connecting Seven Vectors, 1920.
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock, A Solution of the Linear Matrix Equation by Double Multiplication, 1922.
- Frank Lauren Hitchcock and Norbert WienerNorbert WienerNorbert Wiener was an American mathematician.A famous child prodigy, Wiener later became an early researcher in stochastic and noise processes, contributing work relevant to electronic engineering, electronic communication, and control systems.Wiener is regarded as the originator of cybernetics, a...
, A New Vector Method in Integral Equations, 1921.