Walter Burton Ford

Walter Burton Ford (May 18, 1874 in Oneonta, New York – February 24, 1971 in Seneca County, New York) was an American mathematician and philanthropist.

Career The Great Comet of 1882 sparked his interest in mathematics.

He graduated from Oneonta State Normal School (now SUNY Oneonta) in 1893, and then enrolled at Amherst College. After two years, he left Amherst and enrolled at Harvard University. From Harvard he received his A.B. degree magna cum laude in 1897 and an M.A. in 1898.

After his Harvard graduate studies, he began his teaching career with one year at Albany Normal School (now SUNY Albany), and then a year at the Albany Academy. In 1900 he returned to Harvard to begin work on his doctorate. Harvard recommended Ford to the University of Michigan in their search for a new mathematics instructor, and he accepted the post. His duties "consisted of a heavy load of teaching freshmen only, and in classes so large that students were using radiators as well as chairs and benches for seats. But, at last I was started on my chosen career." Upon his return to the United States in 1904, he took a one-year post teaching at Williams College. During this time, his Harvard PhD dissertation, under the direction of Maxime Bôcher, was rejected by Harvard upon its first submissionas being "of little significance". Ford sent his dissertation to the French Journal de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées, which responded enthusiastically on the paper. The French response made Harvard reconsider their criticisms, and subsequently awarded Ford his doctorate in 1905. Studies on Divergent Series and Summability (1916)

In Ovid, New York, Ford donated the funds for the Edith B. Ford Memorial Library, and in 1970 donated the funds for a new municipal building.

Ford's will established The New York Community Trust's Walter B. Ford Fund.