Simon Newcomb (1835–1909)

American mathematical astronomer and political economist. Assistant, Nautical Almanac Office, Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1856. BS, Harvard, 1858. Professor of mathematics, U.S. Naval Observatory,Washington, from 1861. Superintendent, U.S. Navy Almanac Office, 1877–97. Wrote on political economy from a mathematical perspective an was associated with American philosophical pragmatism. Helped reform teaching of mathematics in American secondary schools.