THE INCORPORATORS 1 87 



mathematical recitation, he set himself to master the science, and 

 in 181 2, when he was graduated from college, he was awarded 

 the mathematical prize. Immediately after graduation, he was 

 recommended by Dr. Dwight (then President of Yale) for a 

 tutorship of mathematics, then vacant, in Hamilton College, 

 Clinton, New York. He accepted the position and held it for 

 four years, after which he became Professor of Mathematics and 

 Natural Philosophy. He found more time for study and re- 

 search at Hamilton than he would have enjoyed at a larger insti- 

 tion, and he was able while there to contribute largely to a 

 number of scientific journals and magazines. One of the most 

 prominent of these was the American Journal of Science, to the 

 first volume of which, published in 1818, he contributed a very 

 clever demonstration of a geometrical problem. His papers 

 always attracted attention because of their originality and depth 

 of learning. 



His reputation as a man of power and originality in his sub- 

 ject was constantly growing, and in 1825-26 he received several 

 calls from different colleges and universities to accept the chair 

 of mathematics. Late in 1827 a second invitation, which was 

 finally accepted, came from Rutgers College, in New Jersey, 

 and here he spent the rest of his long life. In 1859, the 

 trustees, thinking that he needed an assistant, as he was then 69 

 years of age, appointed an associate professor. It was at this 

 time that he published his work on algebra. In 1861 he was 

 made professor emeritus, and two years later severed his con- 

 nection with the college. In spite of his rather advanced age, 

 he was in full possession of his mental faculties and employed 

 this time in writing a treatise on differential and integral cal- 

 culus, which, however, was not published until after his death. 

 Both this and his treatise on elementary and higher algebra, 

 display Strong's profound knowledge of these branches of 

 mathematics, and the remarkable logical power of his mind. 

 In fact, his power of reasoning was far better than his memory, 

 so much so that he seldom relied on the latter for a formula or 

 theorem, but worked them out anew. 



