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Biography of William H. Benson:
William H. Benson (Halethorpe, Maryland USA, 1902 - Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA, 1984)
The first known order-32 trimagic square is owed to the American William H. Benson. The whole square was published for the first time in the book New recreations with Magic Squares (pages 86-87) by William H. Benson and Oswald Jacoby, with the method used. Here is an extract of their talk:
«So far is known, this is the first trimagic square ever to be constructed of an order lower than 64. It has been completely checked by the use of IBM equipment and proved to be correct. The method is perfectly general and flexible. Any number of trimagic squares of the 32nd (64th, 128th, etc…) order can be constructed by its use.»
William H. Benson, biographical sketch.
by Samuel Alston Banks, President (1975-1986) of Dickinson College, January 2, 1985.
I learned with regret and sadness just prior to the most recent holiday weekend of the death of William H. (Tee) Benson, Associate Professor Emeritus of Mathematics. He was 82. Services for him took place on Monday, December 31 at the Hoffman-Roth Funeral Home here in Carlisle.
Tee joined the Mathematics Department at Dickinson in 1955 with the rank of Assistant Professor. From 1957 to 1966 he served as Registrar, continuing as a faculty member in mathematics during the same period. In 1958 he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. He moved to emeritus status at the College in 1970.
Tee was born in Halethorpe, Maryland, in 1902, and he graduated from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in 1920. After completing his sophomore year at Johns Hopkins University, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy, from which he graduated with distinction in 1925.
During the next three decades Tee was on active duty with the Navy as a destroyer squadron commander, assistant chief of staff to the Commander of Naval Forces in the Far East, ordnance officer and deputy commanding officer at the U.S. Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia, and in a range of other capacities. During the last phases of the World War II, he was the commanding officer of an attack transport in the Pacific. Just prior to his retirement from the Navy with the rank of Captain, he was the commanding officer at the U.S. Naval Powder Factory at Indian Head, Maryland. He was awarded the Legion of Merit.
While with the Navy, Tee completed three years of study at its postgraduate school in Annapolis (*), one year of study at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and additional graduate work at George Washington University. His particular interests in mathematics were in the areas of probability, statistics, numerical analysis and the theory of sampling. He was considered an expert on magic squares, and in the 1960s coauthored a book entitled Mathematics for Pleasure with Oswald Jacoby. He was a member of the Mathematical Association of America.
In addition to his major responsibilities at the College between 1955 and 1970, Tee handled other duties from time to time, helping to staff the summer school program, editing the catalog, advising students interested in foreign study, and serving on various College committees.
Tee demonstrated a keen interest in the progress and welfare of his students. He was a responsible and dedicated member of our college community. I know that you will join me in extending condolences to his wife Ann, and their son, Robert.
Here are some forewords written by Oswald Jacoby (1902-1984, exactly like Benson!) in Intriguing Mathematical Problems, first published in 1962 under the title Mathematics for Pleasure, book cowritten by Oswald Jacoby and William H. Benson:
«Mathematics for Pleasure is the result. In its preparation I had the help of the perfect co-author, William H. Benson, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Dickinson College - an old friend I had first known when he was Captain Benson, USN, and I was Commander Jacoby, USNR. In addition to his faculty for turning out highly accurate work of all sorts, Professor Benson has long made a hobby of mathematical recreations and ranks with the world's top experts on magic squares.»
(this document is provided courtesy of the Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA) Ref: by Christian Boyer / www.multimagie.com