William Smyth (February 2, 1797 – April 3, 1868) was an American academic and writer on mathematics and other subjects. Biography William Smyth was born in Pittston, Maine on February 2, 1797. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1822, then studied theology at Andover Theological Seminary. In 1825, he became a professor of mathematics at Bowdoin College, and in 1846 became an associate professor of natural philosophy. The Bowdoin College Department of Mathematics Smyth Prize is named in his honor. Smyth was an ardent abolitionist of slavery and supporter of the temperance movement. While at Bowdoin, Smyth supported the effort to the First Parish Church, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places. He died in Brunswick, Maine in April 1868. He is interred at Pine Grove Cemetery in Brunswick. Bibliography Smyth wrote several widely used textbooks: Elements of Algebra (1833) digitized version Elementary Algebra for Schools (1850) digitized version Treatise on Algebra" (1852) digitized version Trigonometry, Surveying, and Navigation(1855) digitized version Elements of Analytical Geometry" (1855) Elements of the Differential and Integral Calculus" (1856; 2d ed., 1859) digitized version Lectures on Modern History, edited by Jared Sparks (1849) digitized version References Bowdoin College Catalogue 1840-1848. Bowdoin College Catalogue. George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives. Bowdoin College Library. External links Smyth Prize An article whose original source is the controversial Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, originally published in 1887-1889, and republished in 1999. 1797 births 1868 deaths 19th-century American mathematicians Bowdoin College alumni 19th-century American male writers People from Kennebec County, Maine People from Brunswick, Maine Writers from Maine Burials at Pine Grove Cemetery (Brunswick, Maine)