Mathematician:John William Wrench, Jr.

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Mathematician

American mathematician working mainly in numerical analysis.

Pioneer of the use of computers for mathematical calculations

Best known now for his work with Daniel Shanks to calculate $\pi$ to $100 \, 000$ decimal places.


Nationality

American


History

  • Born: October 13, 1911 in Westfield, New York
  • Died: February 27, 2009 in Frederick, Maryland


Publications

  • 1960: The evolution of extended decimal approximations to $\pi$ (The Mathematics Teacher Vol. 53: pp. 644 – 650)


Critical View

In order to assure the preservation of this document, I arranged for two clear copies of the output to be printed and specially bound (inscribed in gold letters) -- one of which I donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; the other I kept. The transfer to the Smithsonian took place at a small ceremony, attended by about 25 invited guests.
-- Harry Polachek