James Joseph Sylvester: Life and Work in Letters

James Joseph Sylvester (1814-1897) was one of the great characters of British and American science of the last century. As a Jew he was barred from the upper echelons of British life and academia, but in America he was a hugely influential figure. He was a founding father of the American Mathematical Society, and established a blueprint for mathematics education in American universities. This book brings together for the first time 140 letters from his correspondence in an attempt to separate the fact from the many myths surrounding his life and work. It provides - through the letters and through detailed mathematical and historical commentary - new insights into Sylvester the man and the mathematician as well as into the development of the technical and social structures of mathematics and 19th century society.