William Chauvenet

William Chauvenet (24 May 1820 in Milford, Pennsylvania – 13 December 1870 in St. Paul, Minnesota) was a professor of mathematics, astronomy, navigation, and surveying who was instrumental in the establishment of the U.S.

[2] In 1841, he was appointed a professor of mathematics in the United States Navy, and for a while served on the USS Mississippi teaching math.

[2] In 1855, he declined Yale's offer of a professorship of mathematics to continue working at the Naval Academy in Annapolis.

He brought with him a deep love of music and a familiarity with the classics, in addition to being an outstanding figure in the world of science, noted by many historians as one of the foremost mathematical minds in the U.S. before the Civil War.

It was Chauvenet who mathematically confirmed James B. Eads' plans for the first bridge to span the Mississippi River at St. Louis.

Washington University grew during his chancellorship, adding dozens of professors, hundreds of students, and several new programs, including the law school in 1867.

Chauvenet authored many treatises and textbooks, including A Manual of Spherical and Practical Astronomy and Theory of the Ribbed Arch.