Lloyd Williams

William Lloyd Garrison Williams (October 3, 1888 – January 31, 1976) was an American-Canadian Quaker and mathematician, known for the founding of the Canadian Mathematical Society and overseeing Elbert Frank Cox's doctorate in mathematics.

Personal life

Williams was born in Friendship, Kansas to Amanda Dunreath Truex and Nathan Williams. After the death of his mother, he was taken in by his father's first wife's family, the Tomlinsons in Indiana.

Williams married Anne Skyes, a pianist from Cincinnati, in 1917. Together, they had two daughters, Hester and mathematician Christine Ayoub.

Academic career After attending the Quaker Academy, Williams taught in North Dakota. Once obtaining an M.A. he took on a faculty position at the Miami University. He was awarded honorary degrees by the University of Montreal, University of Manitoba, Dalhousie University, and Mount Allison University.

Canadian Mathematical Congress Williams founded the Canadian Mathematical Society, formerly the Canadian Mathematical Congress, in 1945. Williams dreamed of a forum to bring Canadian mathematicians together, regardless of race or creed, especially after attending the Toronto Congress in 1924 where all mathematicians of the Central Powers had been excluded.

Currently the Jeffrey-Williams Prize is named in his honour, and awarded to mathematicians who have made outstanding contributions to mathematical research by the Canadian Mathematical Society. These beliefs influenced his views of racial equality and hard work. Williams pioneered Quaker causes. He was a member of the Board of the Canadian Friends Service Committee and chairman of the committee from 1959 until 1963. He additionally helped with the purchasing of a building for Montreal friends to use as a meeting house, although it is no longer in use. He is noted for being an official of the Quakers of Montreal.