Hollis Chair of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy explained

The Hollis Chair of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy is an endowed professorship established at Harvard College in 1727 by Thomas Hollis.^[1] The chair, now part of the Physics Department, is the second oldest at Harvard, and the oldest professorship in science in the United States.

The spelling of the title of the chair has been retained since its establishment.^[2] The original Rules and Orders relating to the chair are still extant.^[3]

The incumbents have been:

• Isaac Greenwood (1727–1737)^[1]
• John Winthrop (1737–1779)^[1]
• Samuel Williams (1779–1789)^[1]
• Samuel Webber (1789–1806)^[1]
• John Farrar (1807–1838)^[1]
• Joseph Lovering (1838–1888)^[1]
• Benjamin Osgood Peirce (1888–1914)^[1]
• Wallace Clement Sabine (1914–1919)^[1]
• vacant (January 1919–September 1921)^[4]
• Theodore Lyman (1921–1926)
• Percy Williams Bridgman (1926–1950)
• John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (1951–1969)
• Andrew Gleason (1969–1992)
• Bertrand Halperin (1992–2018)
• Cumrun Vafa (2018–present)

Notes and References

1. Book: Quinquennial catalogue of the officers and graduates of Harvard university, 1636–1915 . 1915 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, MA . 21 . 2011-04-17 .
2. https://hetg.physics.harvard.edu/news/professor-cumrun-vafa-appointed-hollis-professor-mathematicks-and-natural-philosophy Appointment to Hollis Professorship 9 July 2018
3. Web site: Harvard Mirador Viewer.
4. Faculty Appointments. Harvard Alumni Bulletin. September 29, 1921. 24. 1. 40. Sabine died in January 1919, and Lyman was not appointed until September 1921.