Transcript West Point and Its History

West Point
and the Hudson River Valley
V. Frederick Rickey
Professor of Mathematics
United States Military Academy
16 February 2005
Why is West Point
where it is?
George Washington
and
Tadeusz Kościuszko
Professor Baron
furnished me with Dr.
Hutton's Mathematics,
and gave me a
specimen of his mode
of teaching at the
blackboard at the
academy.
Joseph G. Swift, first graduate of West Point.
First use in US?
Eleazer Derby Wood, USMA 1806
Sylvanus Thayer, USMA 1808
• Assistant Professor of
Mathematics, USMA,
1809-1811
• Superintendent,
USMA, 1817-1833
• “Father of the Military
Academy”
Thayer Went to France, 1815-17
• Visited the Ecole
Polytechnique in France
• Brought back 1000
technical books, maps,
and ideas about teaching
The Thayer Method of Teaching
• Cadets read; no
lectures
• Every cadet is graded
every day
• Small sections of 1012
• Sections grouped by
performance
Charles Davies (1807-1878)
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USMA 1815
Dept Head 1823-37
Published 49 books
492 printings/edn’s
By 1875 he was
selling 350,000
books per year
Some Problems from Davies
• By the census of 1850, New York had a
population of 3087695 upon an area of 46085
square miles: what was the population to the
square mile?
• By what number must 7/9 be multiplied, that the
product may be 14/15?
• If a single rail, of a railroad, be 9 feet in length,
how many rails would be required for a road,
whose length is 12 mi. 5 fur. 3 rd. 4 yd.?
Robert Parker Parrott, USMA 1824
Delafield rifled 3-inch cannon
Oliver Otis Howard, USMA 1854
• Civil War General
• Founder of Howard
University in
Washington, DC
Robert Edward Lee, USMA 1829
• Taught mathematics as a
cadet
• Superintendent at West
Point 1848-1852
• Civil War General
Montgomery Meigs, USMA 1836
• Built the wings
and dome of the
Capitol
• Quartermaster
during the Civil
War
George Armstrong Custer,
USMA 1861
• Last in his class
• The Youngest General
Henry Ossian Flipper
USMA 1877
• First Black Graduate
George W. Goethels, USMA 1880
• Built the Panama
Canal
The first Army-Navy football game,
1890. Navy won, 24-0.
Resectioning in 1899
• This 1890 copy of
Davies’ Algebra and
Trigonometry was
owned by U.S. Grant
(USMA 1903). He
was first in the
second section and
then moved to 5th in
1st ─ behind Douglas
MacArthur.
• Ulysses S. Grant (USMA 1843)
applied four times to become an
instructor in Mathematics, but
was turned down. Prof Church
believed Grant’s mediocre
performance in mathematics did
not qualify him to teach in the
department.
• This demonstrates that it is
easier to become President than
to become an instructor in the
Department of Mathematical
Sciences.
Douglas MacArthur, USMA 1903
• In my dreams I hear again
the crash of guns, the rattle of
musketry, the strange,
mournful mutter of the
battlefield. But in the evening
of my memory I come back to
West Point. Always there
echoes and re-echoes: Duty,
Honor, Country.
• May 12, 1962
Omar Bradley and Dwight Eisenhower
USMA 1915
Women at USMA: R-Day 1976
• 631 applied for the class
of 1980 (of 6761)
• 176 were found qualified
• 148 offered admissions
• 116 entered in June 1976
• Today 15% of the class
are women
87 Women Graduated in 1980
COL Kathi Snook
• Graduated 1980
• 1987: MA in applied
math
• 1987-1991: “rotator” in
mathematics
• 1997: Ed.D., Boston
University
• 2002: Retired from the
Army
How do you get your hat back?
USMA Mission
To educate, train, and inspire the Corps of
Cadets so that each graduate is a
commissioned leader of character
committed to the values of Duty, Honor,
Country; professional growth throughout a
career as an officer in the United States
Army; and a lifetime of selfless service to
the nation.