Excerpts Related to Mathematics from Annual Reports of the Board of Visitors to the United States Military Academy

1860:

"The introduction of the analytical method into the course of Natural Philosophy and into the preparatory course of Mathematics in consequence will probably form an era in the public education of the United States."

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Subjects and Textbooks in Use per the 1896 Superintendent's Report

1802  

algebra, geometry--Hutton (Vol 1)

1809  

analytic trigonometry--Hassler (?)

1817  

descriptive geometry--Crozet (1821 also)

1816  

Mansfield comments that fluxions was not taught but would be added in a year or two.

1818  

conic sections--Hutton replaces Simpson

1820  

Fluxions introduced "provisionally".

1821 

Infinite series taught

applications of algebra to geometry--Biot

1823  

"Cambridge" trigonometry

geometry--Legendre (translation)

algebra--Lacroix (trans)  ***Hutton discontinued***

construction--Sganzini

analytic geometry--Garnier

1824

trig--Lacroix (trans)

analytic geom-- Biot

descriptive geom--Crozet

calculus--Lacroix

1825

algebra--Lacroix

geom--Legendre

trig--Lacroix (trans), Bezout (by Farrar)

conic sections--Crozet

descriptive geom--Crozet

perspective--Crozet

analytic geom--Biot

fluxions--Lacroix

1831

algebra--Ross' translation of Bourdon (-> Davies translation)

"by 1839 all of the mathematical text-books in use at the Academy were works of Davies."

1832

algebra--Legendre, Ross

trig--Legendre

geom--Legendre

analytic geom--Biot

fluxions--Lacroix

descriptive geom (plane and solid)--Davies

perspective, shades and shadows--Davies

mensuration--Davies

1837

alg--Davies' Bourdon

geom--Davies' Legendre       *** these were already in use by this time***

1839

algebra--Davies' Bourdon

geom--Davies' Legendre

trig (plane and spherical)--Davies' Legendre

descriptive geom--DAvies

perspective, shades, and shadows-- "

surveying-- "

analytic geom-- "

calculus-- "

1843

calculus--Church replaces Davies

1852-57

analytic geom--Church

calculus--Church

algebra--Davies'Bourdon

geom--Davies' Legendre

trig, descriptive geom, p-s-s, spherical projections and warped surfaces, surveying--Davies

1863

"a pamphlet on trigonometry was substituted for Davies' trigonometry."

1864

descriptive geometry--Church (for 4th class)

1865

descriptive geom--Church replaces Davies

spherical projection--Church replaces Davies (3rd class)

1866

p-s-s--Church

1878

Boucharlat used in lower sections

1879

BV recommends Chauvenet's Treatise on the Method of Least Squares

1880

determinants--Lient J. Knight's Notes on Determinants (upper sections of algebra)

1881

algebra--Davies' New Bourdon (1877)

plane geom--Davies' Legendre (1875)

surveying--Davies

trig, descriptive geom, calculus--Church

determinants--Knight

least squares--Chauvenet

1887

determinants--W. Peck's Elementary Treatise on Determinants (replaces Knight)

diff calculus--E. V. Bass's Introduction to Calculus (replaces first part of Church)

1888

trig--Leint. Ludlow Elements of Trigonometry (replaces Church)

1889

diff calculus--Bass' pamphlet Differential Calculus I (replaces second part of Church)

1891

least squares--W. W. Johnson--The Theory of Errors and Method of Least Squares (replaces Chauvenet)

1893

diff calculus--Bass' Differential Calculus II (replaces last part of Church)

1896

algebra--Davies' Bourdon (1877)

plane geom & surveying--Davies' Van Amringe (1885)

geom--Davies' Legendre

trig & log tables--Lublow

anlaytic geom--Church

descriptive geom--Church

determinants--Peck

diff calculus--Bass Differential Calculus (the book)

int calculus--Church

lest squares--Johnson