James A. Garfield's Original Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem
By
benbreen
Toasted golden, schmeared with insight. Top of the rack.
Summary
The article describes James A. Garfield's original proof of the Pythagorean theorem, which he discovered while serving as a congressman from Ohio before becoming the 20th U.S. President. The proof was published in the New-England Journal of Education in 1876 and is considered a clever, nontrivial mathematical contribution. Garfield remains the only U.S. President to have made an original contribution to mathematics, and his proof is included as the 231st proof in a compendium of 370 different proofs of the Pythagorean theorem.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledGarfield's proof of the Pythagorean theorem is an original proof of the Pythagorean theorem discovered by James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States.
The proof appeared in print in the New-England Journal of Education (Vol. 3, No.14, April 1, 1876).
Garfield is thus far the only President of the United States to have contributed anything original to mathematics.
The proof is nontrivial and, according to the historian of mathematics William Dunham, 'Garfield's is really a very clever proof.'
The proof appears as the 231st proof in The Pythagorean Proposition, a compendium of 370 different proofs of the Pythagorean theorem.
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