Slichter, Charles Sumner 1864 - 1946 | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

Slichter, Charles Sumner 1864 - 1946

Slichter, Charles Sumner 1864 - 1946 | Wisconsin Historical Society

professor, mathematician, dean of the Univ. of Wisconsin graduate school, b. St. Paul, Minn. He graduated from Cornell Univ. (B.S., 1885) and Northwestern Univ. (M.S., 1887). In 1886 he came to the Univ. of Wisconsin as instructor in mathematics, became assistant professor in 1889, and in 1892 was made professor of applied mathematics. In 1920 Slichter was appointed dean of the Univ. of Wisconsin graduate school, serving in this capacity until his retirement to emeritus status in 1934. For several years Slichter served as consulting engineer for the U.S. Geological Survey, and was later engineer in charge of the investigation of underground waters for the U.S. Reclamation Service. He was the author of Theoretical Investigations on Underground Waters (1898), Science in a Tavern (1938), and was also co- author of several textbooks on mathematics. Slichter was president of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters (1900-1903), and after retiring to emeritus status in 1934 continued to make his home in Madison until his death. Who's Who in Amer., 23 (1944); M. Curti and V. Carstensen, Univ. of Wis. (2 vols., Madison, 1949); Madison Wis. State Journal, Oct. 5, 1946.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Slichter Family History for details.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]