Convergence Calendar

The Calendar is being transitioned to the History of Mathematics Special Interest Group of the MAA. See updated listings here. Please submit Calendar items and updates to historyofmathcalendar@gmail.com.

Entries are tagged as follows:

Red text – the event has been cancelled.
Blue text – the event is online (virtual).
Green text – the event is hybrid (occurring simultaneously in-person and online).
Orange text – after the event, a recording has been made available.

An archive of past Calendar items is also available.

2025

January 8–11, 2025: Joint Mathematics Meetings, Seattle Washington

The program includes the following sessions relevant to the history of mathematics and its use in teaching:

AMS Special Session on History of Mathematics, organized by Victor J. Katz, Deborah Kent, Elizabeth Hunter, and Sloan Evans Despeaux.
POM SIGMAA Guest Lecture by Dr. Rajesh Kasturiragan, organized by Steven M. Deckelman and Bonnie Gold.
JMM Panel on The 1988–91 AMS “Computers and Mathematics” Initiative to Promote and Support the Use of Computers in Research & Education—And What Followed, organized by Keith J. Devlin.
NAM Special Session on the Legacy of Elbert Frank Cox: First African American PhD in Mathematics, organized by Asamoah Nkwanta and Edray Herber Goins.

January 16, 2025: Oliver Heaviside: An Electrical Genius of the Victorian Age, Camden History Society
This talk will take place virtually.

Hugh Griffiths will explore the life, unusual character, and contributions to electrical engineering of the self-taught Heaviside (1850–1925). It marks 100 years since his death.

January 16, 2025: Forum of the History of the Mathematical Sciences Virtual Group, History of Science Society
This discussion will be online only.

FoHoMS members meet monthly at 1:00 pm CST to discuss various significant articles and books in the history of mathematics. Contact E.A. Hunter for Zoom details and a copy of this month’s reading, which is John Stillwell's translation of Felix Klein's article on non-Euclidean geometry (Mathematische Annalen 4 (1871) 573—625).

January 16, 2025: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova University
This talk will be presented in a hybrid format.

The PASHoM seminar meets both in person and virtually on Zoom, with one speaker per month each semester. In the January talk David Richeson, Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Dickinson College, will present The Heart of Mathematics: The Ubiquitous Cardioid. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.

January 20–24, 2025: Modern History of Mathematics: Emerging Themes, University of Cambridge, England
This workshop will be hybrid, with both in-person and virtual components.

The first research seminar on the history of mathematics at the Isaac Newton Institute will begin with a workshop that is open both to in-person seminar participants and online guests. Each speaker will respond to “What do you consider to be the most significant open question, or lacuna, in your area of the history of mathematics?” Registration is free for virtual participants, but it must be completed by 22 September 2024. Additional information is available here.

February 4–5, 2025: History of Modern Mathematics in Higher Education Mathematics Teaching, University of Cambridge, England
This workshop will be hybrid, with both in-person and virtual components.

The History for Diversity in Mathematics Network, and the Isaac Newton Institute Modern History of Mathematics programme, are running a 2-day workshop on the History of Modern Mathematics in Higher Ed Mathematics Teaching in Cambridge on 4–5 February, to which all are welcome. The Programme and Registration are now available. Registration is free but essential and has a tight deadline of 19 January. In person and online options are available; the workshop has budget to cover reasonable travel and accommodation costs for up to 20 people. If you will require such funding in order to attend, contact Isobel Falconer.

February 7, 2025: HOM SIGMAA Virtual Speaker Series
This talk will take place virtually.

The series of online talks from the History of Mathematics Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association continues with Alicia Zelenitsky Hill, Simon Fraser University, who will speak about Karine Chemla’s algorithmic approach to analyzing mathematical texts from ancient China beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. For Zoom meeting details, contact Abe Edwards.

February 13, 2025: Forum of the History of the Mathematical Sciences Virtual Group, History of Science Society
This discussion will be online only.

FoHoMS members meet monthly at 1:00 pm CST to discuss various significant articles and books in the history of mathematics. Contact E.A. Hunter for Zoom details and a copy of this month’s reading, which consists of excerpts from Felix Klein's Elementary Mathematics from an Advanced Standpoint: Geometry. The full book is in the Internet Archive.

February 13, 2025: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova University
This talk will be presented in a hybrid format.

The PASHoM seminar meets both in person and virtually on Zoom, with one speaker per month each semester. In the February talk Maryam Vulis, CUNY, York College, will present Remarkable Achievements of the American Scientist and Mathematician Ernest Wilkins. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.

February 22, 2025: Research in Progress Meeting, British Society for the History of Mathematics, Queen’s College, Oxford, England

BSHM’s annual meeting that provides an opportunity for graduate students in any area of the history of mathematics to present their work to a friendly and supportive audience. Abstracts are due to Christopher Hollings by 30 November 2024.

March 7, 2025: HOM SIGMAA Virtual Speaker Series
This talk will take place virtually.

The series of online talks from the History of Mathematics Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association continues with E. A. Hunter, University of Chicago, who will speak about Archimedes Calculating π and Eating It Too beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. For Zoom meeting details, contact Abe Edwards.

March 12, 2025: Diving into Math with Emmy Noether, Austrian Cultural Forum London

This play reveals the life and work of this most influential 20th-century mathematician and will be performed at the Austrian Cultural Forum in London on March 12 at 7:00 pm. Book tickets at the link above.

March 20, 2025: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova University
This talk will take place virtually.

The PASHoM seminar meets virtually on Zoom this month. Tomas Guardia of Gonzaga University will present Rithmomachia and Fiboquadratic Numbers. All seminar talks begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.

March 29, 2025: Field Trip to Bletchley Park and the National Museum of Computing, England

Join the BSHM for a trip to two excellent museums in the history of computing and mathematics. Tickets cost £29 for BSHM members, £39 for non-members, and £5 for students, and can be purchased here. The ticket price includes entry to both museums, and a guided tour of Bletchley Park in the morning.

April 3, 2025: Where Did AI Come From? William Gates Building, Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge, England

The Isaac Newton Institute programme on Modern History of Mathematics is hosting a consideration of the origins of AI by a historian, a computer scientist, and a museum curator. Find abstracts and a registration link here. This in-person event will run from 13:30–18:00 GMT.

April 4, 2025: HOM SIGMAA Virtual Speaker Series
This talk will take place virtually.

The series of online talks from the History of Mathematics Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association continues with Ciarán Mac an Bhaird, Maynooth University, who will speak about Mathematical Histories in an Unexpected Place: Scientific Texts and Hidden Narratives in Maynooth's Russell Library beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. For Zoom meeting details, contact Abe Edwards.

April 10, 2025: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova University
This talk will be presented in a hybrid format.

The PASHoM seminar meets both in person and virtually on Zoom, with one speaker per month each semester. In the April talk Rob Bradley of Adelphi University will present Lagrange, Servois and the Foundations of Calculus. All seminar talks begin at 6:30 pm ET. In-person attendees gather in Mendel 103. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.

April 14, 2025: History of mathematics for mathematical leadership, De Morgan House, London, England

The Isaac Newton Institute Modern History of Mathematics programme is holding a satellite event that will bring together stakeholders in the mathematical community (Heads of Department, Directors of Research, representatives of Learned Societies and Funding Bodies); organisations using history of mathematics in high-level public engagement such as broadcasters and museums; and leading international mathematical historians of mathematics. The meeting will showcase the role, contribution, and potential of modern history of mathematics in mathematical research, teaching, public outreach and impact. Most participants will be invited by the organisers, but interested leaders can register at the link for the wait list.

April 16, 2025: Public Lecture, St Andrews University
This talk will be presented in a hybrid format.

Takaaki Iwai will present Kuzma Kirillovich Tereshchenko - A Hidden Ichthyologist and His Mathematics at 6:00 pm BST at School V, United College, St Salvator's Quad, University of St Andrews. To view the talk online, click here.

April 17, 2025: Forum of the History of the Mathematical Sciences Virtual Group, History of Science Society
This discussion will be online only.

FoHoMS members meet monthly at 1:00 pm CDT to discuss various significant articles and books in the history of mathematics. Contact E.A. Hunter for Zoom details and a copy of this month’s reading, which is Karine Carole Chemla’s “Changes and Continuities in the Use of Diagrams Tu in Chinese Mathematical Writings (Third Century to Fourteenth Century)” (East Asian Science, Technology and Society 4 (2010) 303—326).

May 12, 2025: Numbers and Narratives: A Feminist Genealogy of Automathographies, San Francisco, California

May 12 is the International Women in Mathematics Day, which was chosen to mark and celebrate the birthday of Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to win the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics, in 2014. In joining these celebrations all over the world, the leaders organize a symposium, which will address amongst others the following questions, but its topics will by no means be restricted within them:

How can we make sense of women mathematicians’ historical emergence as subjects of scientific knowledge, as well as creators of philosophy and culture?
In what ways can memory work in the archives motivate young women and girls to re-imagine themselves as mathematicians in the future?

Please send an abstract of around 200 words with a short bio to Maria Tamboukou by June 30, 2024.

May 31–June 2, 2025: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The CSHPM will hold its 2025 Annual Meeting in Toronto at George Brown College in conjunction with the 2025 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Kenneth O. May Lecturer for the Special Session will be Patricia Blanchette of the University of Notre Dame. Proposals are welcome for a Special Session on Conceptual Change in Mathematics and a General Session on all topics relevant to the history of mathematics, the philosophy of mathematics, or the use of history or philosophy in the teaching of mathematics. All talks are 20 minutes in length. Send a title and abstract (maximum 200 words) by 1 February 2025 for the Special Session to Nicolas Fillion or for the General Session to Amy Ackerberg-Hastings and Robert E. Bradley. Register to attend and book accommodations with Congress 2025.

June 2–6, 2025: 2025: Training Week: A Global History of Astronomy on Primary Sources: New Approaches, New Digital Tools, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Observatoire de Paris

An exciting training program for master’s students, doctoral candidates, and early-career researchers focused on the history of astronomy will be held at the Paris Observatory. Participants will explore the latest developments in digital humanities and artificial intelligence as applied to the study of primary sources. A limited number of scholarships are available to support those who require financial assistance for travel and accommodation in Paris. Click the link above for details and application information before April 18.

August 6–9, 2025: MAA MathFest, Sacramento, CA

MathFest 2025, the annual summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, is scheduled to be held at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento, CA. History-related events include the following:

HOM SIGMAA Business Meeting and Invited Address, The HOM SIGMAA Business Meeting and Guest Lecture includes both the annual business meeting for the History of Mathematics Special Interest Group of the MAA and a lecture by an expert in the history of mathematics. Organized by Abe Edwards (Michigan State University) and Ximena Catepillán (Millersville University).
Workshop, Engaging and Inspiring Students in the Mathematics Classroom by Teaching with Primary Source Projects, sponsored by HOM SIGMAA, The Euler Society, and TRIUMPHS Society (TRansforming Instruction: Understanding Mathematics via Primary Historical Sources). Organized by Jennifer Clinkenbeard (California State University, Monterey Bay), Abe Edwards (Michigan State University), Ken Monks (College of Southern Nevada), Daniel Otero (Xavier University), Adam Parker (Wittenberg University), Michael Saclolo (St. Edwards University), and Janet Heine Barnett (Colorado State University Pueblo).
Workshop, Exploring the Use of AI to Translate Early Modern Mathematics from Latin to English, organized by Christopher Goff (University of the Pacific) and Erik Tou (University of Washington-Tacoma).
Workshop, Reacting to the Past: Historical Roleplaying Games in Math Education, organized by Chad Curtis (Nevada State University) and Sungju Moon (Nevada State University).
Workshop, We Integrate Differentials, Not Functions, in which participants will learn to develop the differentiation rules in the manner of Leibniz (using differentials rather than limits). The workshop will compare and contrast solution methods using differentials with the modern approaches using the Derivative Calculus of Lagrange. The source material for the workshop’s activities will be drawn from the organizers’ OER Calculus textbook Differential Calculus: From Practice to Theory. Organized by Robert Rogers (SUNY Fredonia) and Eugene (Bud) Boman (Penn State, Harrisburg).
Workshop, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: A Historical Approach to Fostering Mathematical Breakthroughs, organized by Cem Inaltong (Aeon Learning Sciences) and Austin Volz (Aeon Learning Sciences).
A History of Mathematics Trivia Contest, sponsored by HOM SIGMAA and the Committee on Undergraduate Student Programming (CUSP). Come join fellow math enthusiasts for a fun time of team trivia. Questions will focus on the history of mathematics. Undergraduates are especially encouraged to attend, but the contest is open to everyone! Organized by Ximena Catepillán (Millersville University of Pennsylvania), Greg Coxson (United States Naval Academy), Abe Edwards (Michigan State University), and Janine Janoski (King's College).
Invited Paper Session, The Institute on the History of Mathematics and its Use in Teaching: 30 Years of Impact on Education and Research, sponsored by MAA Convergence, HOM SIGMAA, the TRIUMPHS Society, the Euler Society, the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics, and the Americas Section of the International Study Group on Relations between History and Pedagogy of Mathematics. Organized by Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) and Amy Ackerberg-Hastings (MAA Convergence).
Invited Paper Session, Looking at Complex Analysis and Geometry through the Lenses of Research, History, and Pedagogy, organized by Russell Howell (Westmont College), Michael Dorff (Brigham Young University), Beth Schaubroeck (United States Air Force Academy), and Mike Brilleslyper (Florida Polytechnic University).
Invited Paper Session, Philosophy of Mathematics: The View from Paradox, organized by Steven Deckelman (University of Wisconsin-Stout), Bonnie Gold (Monmouth University), and Thomas Drucker (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater).
Read the Masters! Weierstrass Formalizes the Limit Concept, sponsored by HOM SIGMAA, the TRIUMPHS Society, the ORESME Reading Group, the ARITHMOS Reading Group, and the Euler Society. Organized by Daniel Otero (Xavier University).
NAM David Harold Blackwell Lecture, 100 Years of Inspiration: Elbert Frank Cox and the Future of Mathematics, delivered by Talitha Washington (Howard University).