Thursday3May 2018
Town & Gown Lunch at the Forum Lecture Series
Thomas Jefferson, Euclid, and the Design of a New Nation, presented by Daniele Struppa, Ph.D., President of Chapman University
Thursday, May 3, 2018
11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. PST
Join Town & Gown as we celebrate our 50th year on the campus of Chapman University!
We know that Thomas Jefferson was one of America's founding fathers, the principle author of the Declaration of Independence, and the thrid president of the United States. But not many people know that Jefferson was also a passionate student of geometry and of the ancient mathematician Euclid, the "father of geometry." Geometry students today wtill use Euclid's text, Elements, that was originally written nearly 3,000 years ago.
President Struppa will show how Jefferson's passion for Euclid is directly reflected in the phrasing of the Declaration of Independence. The parallels between the two go much deeper than merely some similarity in the language. Struppa will also discuss how Euclidian geometry became the model for this great American experiment that resulted in the formation of a new nation, dedicated to the principle that all men are created equal.
You can contact the event organizer, Andi Doddridge at doddridg@chapman.edu or (714) 744-7679.
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