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Martin Gardner

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Martin Gardner
BornMartin Gardner
October 21, 1914
Tulsa, USA
DiedMay 22, 2010 (age 95)
Norman, Oklahoma
Resting placeCremated, Location of ashes is unknown
CategoriesBooks by Martin Gardner

Martin Gardner (1914-2010) was a popular American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing magic (conjuring), pseudoscience, literature (especially Lewis Carroll), philosophy, and religion. He wrote the "Mathematical Games" column in Scientific American from 1956 to 1981 and has published over 70 books.

Gardner was often referred to as a "mathemagician".

Biography

Martin Gardner grew up in and around Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He attended college at the University of Chicago and earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy there. He also attended graduate school at the University of Chicago, but he did not earn a master's degree there. He pursued the rest of his education independently through his wide reading and library research.

During World War II, he served for several years in the U.S. Navy as a yeoman. While his primary duty was signaling by means of flags and lights, demanding superb eyesight, he was also secretary to the ship's captain and other officers.

For many decades, Gardner, his wife Charlotte, and their two sons lived in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, where he earned his living as an independent author, publishing books with several different publishers, and also publishing hundreds of magazine articles in various magazines. Either by choice or a happy coincidence, he lived on Euclid Avenue. In 1979, he and his wife semi-retired and moved to Hendersonville, North Carolina where they lived in relative seclusion. He and his wife had a long and happy marriage until her death in 2000.

Gardner popularized recreational mathematics and science and wrote the Encyclopedia of Impromptu Magic.

"Martin Gardner's Corner" ran intermittently in MAGIC Magazine from 1994 to 2004. The 84 installments were each illustrated by Tom Jorgenson.

Admirers of Gardner started meeting in Atlanta, Georgia in 1992, which became a bi-annual event called Gathering for Gardner[1][2]


Magic Related Books

References

  1. Brief Biography at The Magic Nook
  2. Interview
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