Francis D. Murnaghan
Johns Hopkins University
August 4, 1893 - March 24, 1976
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Scientific Discipline: Mathematics Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1942)
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Francis Murnaghan made contributions to both pure and applied mathematics. He had a particular interest in mathematical physics and collaborated with physicist J. M. Ames on the classic book Theoretical Mechanics: an Introduction to Mathematical Physics. He worked with Hugh Dryden and Harry Bateman on a National Research Council report on hydronamics and, late in his career, worked on ship and aircraft design for the U.S. Navy. His work in pure mathematics focused on group representations.
Murnaghan graduated from Ireland’s University College, Dublin, earning his BA degree in 1913 and his MA degree in 1914. He earned his PhD at Johns Hopkins University in 1916. He was an instructor of mathematics at the Rice Institute from 1916 to 1918. He then joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins, where he served as a professor of applied mathematics from 1918 to 1948. He moved to Brazil in 1949 and was a professor of mathematics at the Instituto Tecnologico de Areonautica, where he lectured in English and Portuguese until 1959.
