Lillian Rosanoff Lieber facts for kids
Lillian Rosanoff Lieber (born July 26, 1886, in Nicolaiev, Russian Empire; died July 11, 1986, in Queens, New York) was a smart Russian-American mathematician. She was also a popular author who wrote many books. Lillian often worked with her husband, Hugh Gray Lieber, who was an artist and drew pictures for her books.
Contents
Life and Career Highlights
Early Life and Education
Lillian Lieber was one of four children. Her parents were Abraham H. and Clara Rosanoff. She had three brothers. Two of her brothers, Aaron and Martin, changed their names.
Lillian moved to the United States with her family in 1891. She went to college and earned several degrees. She got her first degree from Barnard College in 1908. Then, she earned a master's degree from Columbia University in 1911. In 1914, she received her Ph.D. (a high-level degree) in chemistry from Clark University. She married Hugh Gray Lieber in 1926.
Lillian Lieber's Career Path
Lillian Lieber taught at several colleges. She taught at Hunter College from 1908 to 1910. She also taught in New York City high schools. From 1915 to 1917, she was a research fellow at Bryn Mawr College.
Later, she taught physics at Wells College. She also taught at the Connecticut College for Women. In 1934, she joined the math department at Long Island University (LIU). She became the head of the department in 1945.
Lillian became a full professor in 1947. She retired from LIU in 1954. She also directed LIU's Galois Institute of Mathematics. This institute was named after a famous mathematician, Évariste Galois.
Her Unique Books
Lillian Lieber wrote about 17 books during her career. Her books were special because of their unique style. She wrote them in a free-verse style, like poetry. Her husband, Hugh Gray Lieber, drew fun pictures for all her books.
Famous thinkers like Albert Einstein praised her writings. Dorothy Canfield Fisher, a writer, said about one of Lillian's books:
This book is different from any other. It is full of math and humor. It also has a deep, helpful way of looking at life. It makes you feel strong and hopeful.
Lillian continued to write and publish books even after she retired. She wrote into the 1960s.
A Quiet Life
Not many details about Lillian Lieber's personal life are known. She died in Queens, New York, just before her 100th birthday. She came from a well-educated family. Some information about her can be found in a book called Yesterday. Her cousin, Miriam Shomer Zunser, wrote this book in the 1930s.
Lillian's Special Writing Style
Lillian Lieber's books were known for their unique look. Her husband, Hugh Gray Lieber, drew illustrations for them. He called these drawings "psyquaports." Hugh was also the head of the Fine Arts Department at Long Island University.
Lillian also used a special way of arranging her text. She explained it in her book The Education of T. C. MITS:
This is not intended to be
free verse.
Writing each phrase on a separate line
facilitates rapid reading,
and everyone
is in a hurry
nowadays.
One of her famous characters was T. C. MITS. This stood for "The Celebrated Man In The Street." T. C. MITS helped explain complex math and physics ideas to everyone. Lillian believed in making learning easy for the general public. She often included parts in her books that praised democracy.
"The Lillian Lieber Standard"
Lillian Lieber had a clear idea about how much math should be in books for everyone. She called this "The Lillian Lieber Standard." In her book, The Einstein Theory of Relativity, she explained it:
...just enough mathematics to HELP and NOT to HINDER the lay reader... Many 'popular' discussions of Relativity without any math at all have been written, but we doubt whether even the best of these can possibly give to a novice an adequate idea of what it is all about.... On the other hand, there are many [books on relativity] that are accessible to experts only.
She believed books should have enough math to help readers understand. But not so much that it would confuse them. Her goal was to make complex ideas clear to people who were not experts. A publishing company, Cavendish Press, later adopted her idea.
Lillian Lieber's Works
Lillian Lieber's books were very important. A special paperback version of The Education of T. C. MITS was given to American soldiers during World War II. For many years, her books were hard to find.
However, starting in 2007, a publisher called Paul Dry Books began reprinting them. They have reissued The Education of T.C. MITS, Infinity, and The Einstein Theory of Relativity.
Here are some of her published works:
- 1931 Non-Euclidean Geometry, Academy Press.
- 1932 Galois and the Theory of Groups, Science Press Printing Company.
- 1936 The Einstein Theory of Relativity, Science Press Printing Company.
- 1940 Non-Euclidean Geometry; or, Three Moons in Mathesis, Science Press Printing Company.
- 1942 The Education of T. C. MITS, Galois Institute of Mathematics and Art.
- 1944 The Education of T. C. MITS, W. W. Norton & Company, (Revised and Enlarged edition).
- 1945 The Einstein theory of Relativity, Farrar & Rinehart.
- 1946 Modern Mathematics for T. C. Mits, The Celebrated Man in the Street, G. Allen & Unwin Ltd.
- 1946 Take a Number: Mathematics for the Two Billion, The Jacques Cattell Press.
- 1947 Mits, Wits and Logic, (1st Edition) W. W. Norton & Company.
- 1949 The Einstein Theory of Relativity, D. Dobson.
- 1953, 2008 Infinity: Beyond the Beyond the Beyond, Paul Dry Books.
- 1954 Mits, Wits, and Logic, (Revised Edition) Galois Institute of Mathematics and Art.
- 1956 Human Values of Modern Mathematics a Book of Essays, Galois Institute of Mathematics and Art.
- 1959 Lattice Theory: The Atomic Age in Mathematics, Galois Institute of Mathematics and Art.
- 1960 Mits, Wits, and Logic, (3d Edition) W. W. Norton & Company.
- 1961 Human Values and Science, Art and Mathematics, (1st Edition) W. W. Norton & Company.
- 1961 Galois and the Theory of Groups: A Bright Star in Mathesis, Galois Institute of Mathematics and Art.
- 1963 Mathematics: First S-t-e-p-s, F. Watts.
- 2007 The Education of T. C. MITS: What Modern Mathematics Means to You, Paul Dry Books.
- 2008 The Einstein theory of Relativity: A Trip To the Fourth Dimension, Paul Dry Books.
- 2017 Take a Number: Mathematics for the Two Billion, Dover Publications.
See also
In Spanish: Lillian Rosanoff Lieber para niños
