Daniel Shanks
| Daniel Shanks | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 17, 1917 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | September 6, 1996 (aged 79) Maryland |
| Citizenship | American |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Alma mater |
University of Chicago University of Maryland |
| Known for |
Computing π Integer factorization Number Theory |
Daniel Shanks (January 17, 1917 – September 6, 1996) was an American mathematician who worked primarily in numerical analysis and number theory. He is best known as the first to compute π to 100,000 decimal places, and for his book Solved and Unsolved Problems in Number Theory.
Dan Shanks (he insisted that everyone call him Dan) was born on January 17, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, and he is not related to the English mathematician William Shanks, who was also known for computation of π. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of Chicago in 1937 and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Maryland in 1954. In between these two, Shanks worked at the Aberdeen Proving Ground and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, first as a physicist and then as a mathematician. During this period he also wrote his Ph.D. thesis (completed in 1949), despite having never taken any graduate math courses.
After earning his Ph.D. in mathematics, Shanks continued working at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory and the Naval Ship Research and Development Center at the David Taylor Model Basin, where he stayed until 1976. He then spent a year at National Bureau of Standards before moving to the University of Maryland as an adjunct professor. He remained in Maryland for the rest of his life.
Dan Shanks died on September 6, 1996.
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