Nominee: Artemas Martin
by Antonella Cupillari

Artemas Martin (1835-1918) was a self-taught mathematician from Erie, who used to sell his vegetables at the farmers market in Erie. He spent most of his life in what is probably now Millcreek. He was the editor of two journals from Erie, The Mathematical Magazine and The Mathematical Visitor. They brought the name of Erie all over North America. He presented his papers at international conferences. Martin was a great collector of books (had more than 10,000 books) and worked as a computer (a person who performed hard calculations) for the government. He was a member of many professional associations in the USA and abroad.

Most importantly, this man who went to school very little, strongly believed in education and in working together to solve problems. His publications targeted mathematics teachers and the lovers of mathematics in general. He learned calculus and higher math on his own, and tried to share it with others. He even learned to typeset his own work because nobody in the area met his standards. He coauthored an important document that listed (with comments) most of the mathematics books that were in use in the USA at his time. This document is quite important from the historical point of view, as it offers a view of American education at the time.

He donated all his books to American University in Washington, D.C., where part of the rare book collection is named after him.

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