THE INCORPORATORS 169 
at that time removed to Boston, and young Peirce assisted him 
in reading the proofs of his translation of Laplace’s Mécanique 
Céleste. 
For two years after his graduation, Professor Peirce taught 
at Northampton, Massachusetts. In 1831, he was appointed a 
tutor in Harvard College, and in 1833 was elected Professor of 
Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. Afterwards he was 
called to the Perkins chair of mathematics and astronomy, which 
he occupied until his death. 
During the first years of his professorship, he published a 
series of text-books for use in colleges. The first was a “ Treatise 
on Sound,” and was followed by one on “ Plane and Solid 
Geometry,” a “ Treatise on Algebra,” and a treatise on “‘ Plane 
and Spherical Trigonometry.” ‘These books produced very 
beneficial effects on the methods of teaching mathematics. 
In 1841, Professor Peirce began a work on “ Curves, Func- 
tions and Forces,” two volumes of which appeared at intervals. 
In place of the third volume, he published in 1855, his 
“Analytic Mechanics.” ‘This was rather a treatise than a text- 
book, and exhibits in a striking manner Peirce’s peculiar mathe- 
matical powers, and his concise and logical style. In 1842, he 
began work on the mathematical part of the “ American 
Almanac,” of which he prepared ten volumes. One of these con- 
tained a list of the known orbits of comets, to which he added 
several approximate orbits for historic comets that had been 
imperfectly observed. 
In 1849, Congress established a bureau for the publication 
of the “ American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac,” under 
the supervision of Admiral (then Lieutenant) Charles H. Davis, 
and Professor Peirce was appointed consulting astronomer. ‘To 
his work while in this position may be attributed largely the 
high character which this publication attained. For it he pre- 
pared his “ Tables of the Moon,” which were used for many 
years. After the discovery of the planet Neptune, Professor 
Peirce took great interest in the researches of Leverrier and 
Adams, and his papers written on the disputed questions regard- 
