Lester R. Ford

This is about early- and mid-20th-century mathematician. For his mathematician son, active from the mid-20th century, see L. R. Ford Jr.

Lester Randolph Ford Sr.
Born	(1886-10-25)October 25, 1886 Missouri
Died	November 11, 1967(1967-11-11) (aged 81) Charlottesville, Virginia
Residence	United States
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Missouri State University, Harvard University
Known for	Ford circles
Children	L. R. Ford Jr.
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics
Institutions	Rice University, Mathematical Association of America
Doctoral advisor	Maxime Bôcher
Doctoral students	Edwin Beckenbach

Lester Randolph Ford Sr. (October 25, 1886 – November 11, 1967) was an American mathematician, editor of the American Mathematical Monthly from 1942 to 1946, and President of the Mathematical Association of America from 1947 to 1948.^[1]

Ford circles are named after him.^[1] He is the father of L. R. Ford Jr.^[1]

In 1964, the MAA recognised his contribution to mathematics by establishing the Lester R. Ford Awards for authors of articles of expository excellence published in The American Mathematical Monthly or Mathematics Magazine.^[1][2][3][4] (The prize is now known as the Paul R. Halmos - Lester R. Ford Awards.^[5]) His doctoral students include Edwin Beckenbach.

Publications

• Ford, Lester R. (1929), Automorphic functions, New York, McGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-8218-3741-2, JFM 55.0810.04 ^[6]

References