He brought with him a deep love of music and a familiarity with the classics, in addition to being an outstanding figure in the world of science, noted by many historians as one of the foremost mathematical minds in the U.S. before the Civil War. It was Chauvenet who mathematically confirmed James B. Eads' plans for the first bridge to span the Mississippi River at St. Louis. The directors of the University chose him to be chancellor after his friend and Yale classmate Joseph Hoyt died in 1861. He came to his chancellorship in the midst of the Civil War in a state divided by the question of slavery. Washington University grew during his chancellorship, adding dozens of professors, hundreds of students, and several new programs, including the law school in 1867. He served as vice president of the United States National Academy of Sciences and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was a member of both the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Chauvenet authored many treatises and textbooks, including A Manual of Spherical and Practical Astronomy and Theory of the Ribbed Arch. The calculations of Chauvenet and Charles Pfeiffer were used by James Buchanan Eads in designing and building the Eads Bridge in St. Louis. Chauvenet served as chancellor until his death in 1870. William Greenleaf Eliot, founder of Washington University, succeeded him as chancellor. Chauvenet died in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis. Post-humous honors After his death, the Mathematical Association of America established a prestigious prize in his honor, the Chauvenet Prize; the Naval Academy named a mathematics building for him; and the U.S. Navy christened two ships after him, USS Chauvenet (AGS-11) and . The Chauvenet crater on the moon is named after him as well. Mount Chauvenet in the Rocky Mountains is named after him. Cultural references Chauvenet is referenced in NCIS: Los Angeles, S6, E2, as the name of a Deep Net site. See also Chauvenet's criterion References External links Biographical Entry at Washington University in St. Louis National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir 1820 births 1870 deaths Chancellors of Washington University in St. Louis Yale University alumni Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Mathematicians from Missouri Washington University in St. Louis mathematicians Washington University in St. Louis faculty United