Robert Adrain (1775-1843)

After Adrain came to the US from his native Ireland in 1798 (or 9), he settled first at Princeton, NJ, where he was appointed a master at Princeton Academy. He stayed there until 1800 when the family moved to York, PA. In York Adrain became Principal of York County Academy. The Mathematical Correspondent, an early American mathematics journal,  began publishing in 1804 under the editorship of George Baron and  Adrain became one of its main contributors. Baron had taught mathematics to a few soldiers at West Point before it was USMA, so that establishes a nice link. 

Need to look into this Baron connection more carefully. 

St. Andrew's web site has more detail and references. 

Manuscripts:

• Letter from Calhoun to Thayer, October 7, 1820, about appointing Adrain as mathematics professor at USMA. 
• Letter from VanDeventer to Thayer, November 2, 1820, about appointing Adrain or Douglass as mathematics professor at USMA.

These are the only two letters indexed under Adrain in The West Point Thayer Papers.

Compiled by V. Frederick Rickey, beginning November 2000.
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