author
Derrick Norman Lehmer
1867–1938
A patient explorer of number theory, he became known for ingenious methods of factoring large numbers and for building mechanical aids to make hard calculations practical. He spent most of his career at the University of California, Berkeley, helping shape an early American tradition in computational mathematics.
1 Audiobook
An Elementary Course in Synthetic Projective Geometry
by Derrick Norman Lehmer
About the author
Born in Indiana in 1867 and raised in Nebraska, he studied at the University of Nebraska before earning a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1900. He soon joined the University of California, Berkeley, where he remained for decades and became one of the best-known American specialists in number theory.
His work focused on factoring large integers, tables in number theory, and clever computational techniques long before the digital computer era. He is especially remembered for creating mechanical devices, including a famous factor stenciling method often called the Lehmer sieve, that helped mathematicians handle difficult arithmetic more efficiently.
Beyond mathematics, accounts of his life describe him as a gifted musician and writer as well as a devoted teacher and scholar. He died in Berkeley in 1938, and his influence continued through later number theorists, including his son D. H. Lehmer.