R. E. Powers

Ralph Ernest Powers (April 27, 1875 – January 31, 1952) was an American amateur mathematician who worked on prime numbers.

He is credited with discovering the Mersenne primes M₈₉ and M₁₀₇, in 1911 and 1914 respectively. In 1934 he verified that the Mersenne number M₂₄₁ is composite.

Details of his life are little-known, though he appears to have been an employee of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.

Soon after Powers announced the discovery of M₁₀₇, the Frenchman E. Fauquembergue claimed that he had discovered it earlier, but many of Fauquembergue's other claims were later demonstrated as erroneous; thus, many prefer recognizing Powers as the discoverer, including the well-known Internet resource The Prime Pages.

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