The Mathematical Diary was an early American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 mathematical journal

Mathematical journal

A mathematics journal is a scientific journal which publishes exclusively mathematics papers. A practical definition of the current state of mathematics, as a research field, is that it consists of theorems with proofs published in a reputable mathematics journal, and which usually have passed...

 and mathematics magazine, published between 1825 and 1833.

The Mathematical Diary was founded by Robert Adrain

Robert Adrain

Robert Adrain was a scientist and mathematician, considered one of the most brilliant mathematical minds of the time in America....

 at Columbia College (now Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

) after two unsuccessful attempts, in 1808 and 1814, to start a more purely academic mathematics journal, The Analyst, or, Mathematical Museum

The Analyst, or, Mathematical Museum

The Analyst, or, Mathematical Museum was an early American mathematics journal. Founded by Robert Adrain in 1808, it published one volume of four issues that year before discontinuing publication...

. The Mathematical Diary contained, in addition to some serious mathematics, articles of general interest such as mathematical puzzle

Mathematical puzzle

Mathematical puzzles make up an integral part of recreational mathematics. They have specific rules as do multiplayer games, but they do not usually involve competition between two or more players. Instead, to solve such a puzzle, the solver must find a solution that satisfies the given conditions....

s aimed at the amateur problem-solver, which may have helped it attract more laypeople as subscribers and contributed to its greater longevity. Adrain edited the first four issues; after he left Columbia in 1826 for Rutgers

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

, James Ryan, previously the publisher, took over the editorship. A total of thirteen issues were published.