Levy, H. (Hyman), 1889-1975
Dates
- Existence: 1889 - 1975
Biography
Hyman Levy (1889-1975) was a Scottish-Jewish mathematician and philosopher active in British academia and politics for the early through mid-20th century. Levy was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1916 and held positions at the National Physical Laboratory (1916-1920) and the Royal College of Science and Technology (1920-1954) where he was at points the chair of the Mathematics and Mechanics department (1946-1952) and the Dean of the College of Science (1952-1954).
Levy’s professional work was in numerical methods, differential equations, finite difference equations, and statistics. Published works on mathematics include Aeronautics in Theory and Experiment (1918), Numerical Studies in Differential Equations (1934), Elements of the Theory of Probability (1936), and Finite Difference Equations (1958).
Levy was politically active in the Labor party during the 1920s, before joining the British Communist Party in 1931. He would leave the communist party in 1956 after publicly criticizing the USSR for their treatment of their Jewish population. In 1958, Levy published Jews and the National Question reflecting on these issues he raised. Levy showed increasing signs of support for Israel and Zionist movements later in his life.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Hyman Levy Collection
The Hyman Levy Collection contains professional and personal papers of Hyman Levy (1889-1975), a Scottish-Jewish mathematician, philosopher, political thinker, and public figure active in Britain from the early to late 20th century. Papers include letters, academic writing, newspaper clippings, lecture materials, literary writings, meeting agendas, and political writing. The collection is arranged into 5 series, spanning 21 document boxes ranging in date from 1894 to 1969.