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Robert Adrain
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Robert Adrain

Robert Adrain
BornSeptember 30, 1775
Carrickfergus, Ireland
DiedJuly 10 1843 (aged 69)
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Residence Ireland (1775-1798)
U.S. (1798-1843)
FieldDiophantine algebra
Statistics
Known forLeast squares method


Robert Adrain (September 30, 1775 - August 10, 1843) was a scientist and mathematician, considered one of the most brilliant mathematical minds of the time in America.[1]

He was born in Carrickfergus, Ireland, but left Ireland after the failure of the uprising of the United Irishmen in 1798 and moved to Princeton, New Jersey. He taught mathematics at various schools in the United States.

He is chiefly remembered for his formulation of the method of least squares, published in 1808. Adrain certainly did not know of the work of C.F. Gauss on least squares (published 1809), although it is possible that he had read A.M. Legendre's article on the topic (published 1804).

Adrain was an editor of and contributor to the Mathematical Correspondent, the first mathematical journal in the United States. Later he twice attempted to found his own journal, The Analyst, or, Mathematical Museum, but in both the 1808 and 1814 attempts it did not attract sufficient subscribers and quickly ceased publication. In 1825 he founded a somewhat more successful publication targeting a wider readership, The Mathematical Diary, which was published through 1832.[2]

Adrain, Gauss, and Legendre all motivated the method of least squares by the problem of reconciling disparate physical measurements; in the case of Gauss and Legendre, the measurements in question were astronomical, and in Adrain's case they were survey measurements.

Adrain died in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

References

  • 1. ^ (1967) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who. 
    2. ^ Parshall, Karen Hunger; David E. Rowe (1994). The Emergence of the American Mathematical Research Community, 1876-1900. American Mathematical Society, pp. 43–44. ISBN 0-8218-9004-2. 

Further reading

  • Robert Adrain. "Research concerning the probabilities of the errors which happen in making observations, &c". The Analyst, or Mathematical Museum. Vol. I, Article XIV, pp 93-109. Philadelphia: William P. Farrand and Co., 1808.
  • Brian Hayes. "Science on the Farther Shore". American Scientist, 90(6):499, 2002. (Article may be viewed at: http://www.americanscientist.org/.)
  • Stephen M. Stigler. "Mathematical statistics in the early States". Annals of Statistics, 6:239–265, 1978.
  • Struik, D.J (1970). "Robert Adrain". Dictionary of Scientific Biography 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 65-66. 

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In mathematics, a Diophantine equation is an indeterminate polynomial equation that allows the variables to be integers only. Diophantine problems have fewer equations than unknown variables and involve finding integers that work correctly for all equations.
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Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. It is applicable to a wide variety of academic disciplines, from the physical and social sciences to the humanities.
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In regression analysis, least squares, also known as ordinary least squares analysis, is a method for linear regression that determines the values of unknown quantities in a statistical model by minimizing the sum of the residuals (the difference between the predicted and
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mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of mathematics.

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Some people incorrectly believe that mathematics has been fully understood, but the publication of new discoveries in mathematics continues at an immense
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United Irish Symbol — Harp without Crown and Cap of Liberty]] The Society of United Irishmen was founded as a Liberal political organisation in eighteenth century Ireland that sought Parliamentary reform.
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In regression analysis, least squares, also known as ordinary least squares analysis, is a method for linear regression that determines the values of unknown quantities in a statistical model by minimizing the sum of the residuals (the difference between the predicted and
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Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss

Carl Friedrich Gauss, painted by Christian Albrecht Jensen
Born 30 March 1777(1777--)
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Adrien-Marie Legendre

Adrien-Marie Legendre
Born September 18 1752(1752--)
Paris, France
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The Mathematical Correspondent was the first American mathematics journal, founded in 1804, under the editorial guidance of George Baron. In 1807, Robert Adrain, a main contributor to the journal, became editor.
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A mathematical journal is a scientific journal which publishes exclusively (or almost exclusively) mathematical papers. A practical definition of the current state of mathematics, as a research field, is that it consists of theorems with proofs published in a reputable
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