Davis, Nathaniel F.

Nathaniel French Davis (1847-1921), professor of mathematics, was born in Laconia, New Hampshire, on June 11, 1847. He entered Brown from Williston Academy in Easthampton, New York, and graduated in 1870. In the first few years after his graduation he worked for the Providence Water Works, taught at Riverview Military Academy in Poughkeepsie, New York, and was professor of mathematics and physics at Keystone State Normal School in Pennsylvania. In 1874 he returned to Brown as instructor in mathematics, and was promoted to assistant professor in 1879, associate professor in 1889, and professor of pure mathematics in 1890. He studied at the University of Göttingen in 1892-93. He retired in 1915, and died on May 17, 1921 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Nathaniel Davis book fund was established in his memory for the purchase of mathematical books.