Benjamin Peirce ForMemRS HonFRSE (/ˈpɜːrs/;[1] April 4, 1809 – October 6, 1880) was an American mathematician who taught at Harvard University for approximately 50 years.

In addition, he was instrumental in the development of Harvard's science curriculum, served as the college librarian, and was director of the United States Coast Survey from 1867 to 1874.

In contrast, the later logicist program of Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell attempted to base mathematics on logic.

Their analysis of the questioned signature showed that it resembled another particular handwriting example so closely that the chance of such a match occurring at random, i.e. by pure coincidence, was extremely small.

[10] Peirce credited God as shaping nature in ways that account for the efficacy of pure mathematics in describing empirical phenomena.

Post-doctoral positions in Harvard University's mathematics department are named in his honor as Benjamin Peirce Fellows and Lecturers.