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James R. Newman

James Roy Newman was an American mathematician & mathematical historian. He was also a lawyer, practicing in NY state from 1929 to 1941. During & after WWII, he held several positions in the US government, including Chief Intelligence Officer at the US Embassy in London, Special Assistant to the Undersecretary of War & Counsel to the US Senate Committee on Atomic Energy. In the latter capacity, he helped to draft the Atomic Energy Act of 1946. He became a member of the board of editors for Scientific American beginning in '48. He's also credited for coining & first describing the mathematical concept "googol" in his book (co-authored by Edward Kasner) Mathematics & The Imagination.


“We have found a strange foot-print on the shores of the unknown. We have devised profound theories, one after another, to account for its origin. At last, we have succeeded in reconstructing the creature thatmade the foot-print. And Lo! It is our own.”
James R. Newman
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