History of the Golden Section
A History of the Northern California Section (36 MB)
By Gerald L. Alexanderson and Leonard F. Klosinski
The following is taken from the preface:
In putting together this short history of the Northern California Section we have had the advantage of having at hand the history of the Section prepared by Roy Dubisch in 1960. This has been helpful in many ways. We have also consulted Harold Bacon, one of the charter members of the Section. He has been helpful without fail We appreciate his willingness to have us publish here his comments on the founding of the Section, delivered at the Davis meeting in 1986. In addition, we have depended on all of the following for information on a number of different questions: Henry L. Alder, David Barnette, E. Maurice Beesley, William Chinn, Alice Kelly, D. H. Lehmer, John Mitchem and Don Pfaff. Beverly Ruedi of the Washington office of the MAA provided us with information from the MAA archives. We are grateful to C. M. Fulton and Constance Reid for pictures. We could locate only a poor group photograph showing A. L. McCarty, taken from a Lowell High School yearbook, so we had a drawing made from that by Sandra Kelly. The photograph of Sophia Levy was provided by the Archives of the University of California, Berkeley. On the technical side we have had the assistance of Madeline Borges, Dave Jackson, and Mary Jackson. We are grateful to all of these.
One quickly learns when looking up the records of the Section that there was a time not too long ago when “University of California” meant “University of California at Berkeley.” And there was a time when the names of the institutions in the California State University system changed, it seems, every few years. We have tried to stick with the name current at the time referred to, even though this sometimes results in several names for the same school. For example, over the last fifty years, San Jose State has gone by at least three names--San Jose State College; California State University, San Jose; and San Jose State University. (There may even be a fourth if one counts the period during which the “e” in “Jose” was given an accent!) We hope no one finds our convention for dealing with this confusing.
We are sure there are errors and omissions. The present records of the Section, largely in the hands of the Secretary-Treasurer, are far from complete, particularly in the early years, so on occasion we have had to rely on memory or on a variety of records and accounts, some of which are sketchy. We would appreciate hearing from readers about any errors they may discover.
G. L. Alexanderson
Leonard F. Klosinski
Santa Clara, California
November 14, 1988
From Galileo (1939) to Santa Clara (2001) (42 MB)
By Leonard F. Klosinski
The following is taken from the preface:
“Secure the shadow ‘ere the substance fade.” With that motto, photographers in Gold Rush California urged potential clients to preserve the likeness of loved ones through the new technology of the daguerreotype. A similar principle prompts the appearance of this volume which aims at preserving the story of the Northern California Section.
In 1988 A History of the Northern California Section Mathematical Association of America 1939 - 1988 was printed, and distributed to Section members at our March 4, 1989 meeting at Sonoma State University.
This is an update on that history, and we begin with the minutes of the organizational meeting of the Section in Harold Bacon's own hand. We then proceed to an interview by Don Albers of the only two Northern California members who have served as Presidents of the Mathematical Association ofAmerica. It also happens that they both served as Secretary of the MAA, among only five in the MAA’s history.
No history is ever complete or free from error and no claim of such is made for this history. On occasion we have had to rely on the memories of our membership and some details can no longer be obtained. We would appreciate hearing from readers about any errors or omissions that might be discovered.
I would like to thank those whose memories and files helped recall some of our history: Henry L. Alder, Gerald L. Alexanderson, Titu Andreescu, G. Donald Chakerian, Anne Fish, Lester H. Lange, Edward C. Keppelmann, Jean Pedersen, G. Thomas Sallee and Mary Sunseri. A special thanks goes to Don Albers for his interview, and to G. L. Alexanderson for reading the entire manuscript and offering suggestions and corrections.
Leonard F. Klosinski
Santa Clara, California
January 5,2001