In Memoriam: Professor Thomas Hawkins
With sadness but also full of gratitude for his having been an outstanding colleague and an important contributor to the department for over 50 years, we mark the passing away of Professor Thomas Hawkins on December 10, 2024.
Tom was born January 10, 1938 in Flushing, NY. He earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1968, with a thesis entitled, The origins and early development of Lebesque’s theory of integration. After graduating, he taught at Swarthmore College, and then moved to Boston University in 1972, where he was a Professor Mathematics until retiring in 2009. Also, since 2013, he has been a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society.
Tom’s mathematical output includes several classical monographs in the history of mathematics. He launched his career with Lebesgue’s Theory of Integration: Its Origin and Development (University of Wisconsin Press, 1970), and most recently produced the opus: The Mathematics of Frobenius in Context: A Journey through 18th to 20th century Mathematics (Springer 2013).
In recognition of his penetrating mathematical scholarship and many contributions to the history of mathematics, Tom was named in 2001 as the inaugural recipient of the Albert Leon Whiteman Prize awarded every four years by the American Mathematical Society, “to recognize an outstanding historian of mathematics whose current research and numerous publications display the highest standards of mathematical and historical sophistication”. The citation of Tom’s award reads: “In presenting the first Albert Leon Whiteman Memorial Prize to Thomas Hawkins, we acknowledge a body of scholarship characterized by breadth and coherence, clarity and sensitivity to historical detail, and depth of insight. Hawkins’s work has truly transformed our understanding of how modern mathematics has evolved.”
Earlier in his career, Tom gave invited addresses at the International Congress of Mathematics in 1974 (Vancouver) and in 1986 (Berkeley). He was a frequent visitor at the University of Chicago and at Yale University. He also held fellowships at the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule in Zurich (1969-70), the Department of History of Science at Harvard University (1980-81), the School of Mathematics of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (1988-89), and the Dibner Institute for History of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1996–97). His work “The Birth of Lie’s Theory of Groups” was recognized in 1997 by the Mathematical Association of America with its Chauvenet Prize.
Tom guided the PhD theses of Daniel Alexander and Jeff Suzuki, and he taught thousands of students at Boston University in differential equations, linear algebra, multivariable calculus, discrete mathematics, analysis, geometry, algebra, history of mathematics, and many other topics.
After retirement, Tom moved to Arizona. He was fully active with his research, exercising, and bike riding until this past Fall. The photo was taken by Professor Diane Meuser on August 21, 2024, after one of their many rides.