The Namer
Joseph Benson Reynolds, 1881-1975 "Googie"
Reynolds was born in Erie PA, formerly Sugar Run, PA, in 1881. He received his BS in1907 and MS in 1910 from Lehigh, and a Ph.D. from Moravian College in 1919.
In 1909, Reynolds was Ogburn's student and looking for a challenging thesis topic. For his talented student, Ogburn wanted to offer something both challenging and innovative. Joel Metcalf supplied 4 photographs of his newly discovered minor planet to Ogburn for his student, Reynolds, to compute its orbit. The result was Reynolds' thesis.
Reynolds spent more than half a century at Lehigh as a student, instructor and administrator. He held a variety of positions, including Instructor of Mathematics and Astronomy from 1907-1913, Assistant Professor from 1913-1921, Associate Professor from 1921-1927, Secretary of Faculty from 1924-1926, and Professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Mechanics starting in 1927. He became head of the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy in 1945. Reynolds also chaired the Philadelphia Section of the American Mathematical Association from 1939-1940.
Reynolds died December 24, 1975.
Field Trip
Civil Engineering surveying camp, ca. 1928
Joseph B. Reynolds is in the second row with dark jacket.
Department History
Joseph B. Reynolds.
A Seventy-Five Year History of the Department Of Mathematics and Astronomy at Lehigh University. Lehigh University, 1941.