Frank Nelson Cole
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Born | September 20, 1861 Ashland, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Died | May 26, 1926 New York City |
| Field | Mathematics |
| Institution | Harvard University University of Michigan Columbia University American Mathematical Society |
Frank Nelson Cole, Ph. D. (September 20, 1861 –May 26, 1926) was an American mathematician, born at Ashland, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard, where he lectured on mathematics from 1885 to 1887.
Later, he was employed at the University of Michigan and Columbia University. Professor Cole became secretary of the American Mathematical Society in 1895 and an editor of its Bulletin in 1897.
Cole published a number of important papers, including The Diurnal Variation of Barometric Pressure (1892).
In 1903 Cole famously made a presentation to a meeting of the American Mathematical Society where he identified the factors of the Mersenne Prime known as M67. Edouard Lucas has demonstrated in 1876 that M67 must have factors (ie. was not prime), however he was unable to determine what those factors were. During Cole's so-called "lecture", he approached the chalkboard and in complete silence proceeded to calculate the value of M67 (ie. 2 raised to the 67th power, less 1), with the result being 147,573,952,588,676,412,927. Cole then moved to the other side of the board and wrote 193,707,721 x 761,838,257,287, and worked through the tedious calculations by hand. Upon completing the multiplication and demonstrating that the result equalled M67, Cole returned to his seat, not having uttered a word during the hour-long presentation. His audience greeted the presentation with a standing ovation. Cole later admitted that finding the factors had taken "three years of Sundays" [1].
Cole died in New York City, aged 64.
[edit] External links
- O'Connor, John J., and Edmund F. Robertson. "Frank Nelson Cole". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.
Categories: American scientist stubs | American mathematician stubs | 1861 births | 1926 deaths | 19th century mathematicians | American mathematicians | Columbia University faculty | Harvard University alumni | People from Middlesex County, Massachusetts | People from New York City | University of Michigan faculty
