Gilbert Ames Bliss [SEP] occupation
Gilbert Ames Bliss
Gilbert Ames Bliss, (9 May 1876 – 8 May 1951), was an American mathematician, known for his work on the calculus of variations.
Life.
Bliss grew up in a Chicago family that eventually became affluent; in 1907, his father became president of the company supplying all of Chicago's electricity. The family was not affluent, however, when Bliss entered the University of Chicago in 1893 (its second year of operation). Hence he had to support himself while a student
. Subsequent work on variational problems would strike out in new directions, such as Morse theory, optimal control, and dynamic programming.
Bliss also studied singularities of real transformations in the plane.
Publications.
- 1925 "Calculus of Variations"
- 1933 "Algebraic Functions"
- 1944 "Mathematics for Exterior Ballistics"
- 1946 "Lectures on the Calculus of Variations"
References.
- MacTutor: Gilbert Ames Bliss. The source for most of this entry.
- Ames' Students at