Mathematical Treasure: Daniel Dowling’s Key to the Course of Mathematics

Daniel Dowling ran a boarding school called Mansion House in the Highgate area of London from at least 1810 to 1826, sometime after which he relocated to Hammersmith [Baggs et al. 1980; "John Morphett" n.d.]. In 1818 Dowling published Key to the course of mathematics, composed for the use of the Royal Military Academy, by Charles Hutton. Hutton (1737–1823) had prepared a 3-volume set of textbooks between 1798 and 1801 for the British cadets studying at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich. These volumes were reprinted many times in Great Britain and the United States; the third American version of 1818 can be viewed in Convergence.

In his preface, Dowling explained that he had assembled a key for Hutton’s textbooks, used it in his own teaching for many years, and now decided that the public might benefit from solutions to the examples and theorems as well. The publication of an instructor’s key was still somewhat unusual in this time period, but within a few decades it became standard for the publishers and authors of textbooks to prepare and issue keys themselves. For instance, an 1856 example by prolific American textbook compiler Charles Davies (1798–1876) can be viewed in Convergence’s Mathematical Treasures.

The table of contents for Dowling’s key provides an outline of the topics covered by Hutton’s book:

References

Baggs, A. P., Diane K. Bolton, M. A. Hicks, and R. B. Pugh. 1980. Hornsey, including Highgate: Education. In A History of the County of Middlesex, edited by T. F. T. Baker and C. R. Elrington, 189–199. Volume 6. London.

John Morphett. n.d. Wikipedia.

Index to Mathematical Treasures