Le Matematiche Pure ed Applicate Cristoforo Alasia De Quesada
Djursholm, 20-23 June 2016 CIRMATH Institut Mittag-Leffler
Maria Rosaria Enea Cristoforo Alasia De Quesada (1869 -1918) Alasia had his first teaching position at a high school in Sassari in 1893. He also taught in Tempio Pausania, Oristano and Ozieri (Sardegna), in Brindisi (Puglia) and Albenga (Liguria).
Although the secondary schools weren’t in university centers, his scientific activity was considerable. Alasia was author of about 150 publications on topics concerning: pure mathematics, history of mathematics, bibliography of mathematics, teaching methods of the exact sciences, Astronomy, Physics. The topics in his reserch were harmed by his too many interests, but some of his research are still valuable and quoted, such as his essays on the geometry triangle : C. Alasia, La recente geometria del triangolo (Città di Castello 1900)
In 1901 Alasia founded a journal for teachers The editor of Le Matematiche pure ed applicate was Scipione Lapi, who was well known in Italy for his high professional skills at that time. The typography was located in Città di Castello in Umbria. The journal was short-lived. After the first booklet of January 1903, Alasia announced to readers the temporary interruption of publications due to excessive commitments of the typography for the Third International Congress of Historical Sciences, which took place in Rome, 1st -9th of April 1903. Indeed the publication was never resumed, also due of the sudden death of the publisher on September 3rd, 1903.
About the journal's collaborators, Alasia wrote to Ernesto Cesàro, on 22 November 1900:
«[…] We are interested that a short list of collaborators, whose names are ones of the most distinguished scientists, may be clear sign of the scientific value of the periodical. Some have already given voluntary joining and communication.[…]»
Allardice R. California Giudice F. Genova Van Uven M. Utrecht Amodeo F. Napoli Greenstreet W. Londra Vivanti G. Messina Barbarin P. Bordeaux Lebon E. Paris Zerr G. B. Philadelphia Barisien E.Costantinopoli Lemoine E. Paris Biasi G. Sassari Loria G. Genova Bourget H. Toulouse Mansion P. Gand Brocard H. Bar Le Duc Marcolongo R. Messina Burali-Forti C. Torino Miller G. California Burgatti P. Roma Mineo C. Palermo Calegari A. Genova Nielsen N. Copenhague Cesàro E. Napoli Pirondini G. Parma Composto S. -- Repetto G. Sassari D’Ocagne M. Paris Retali V. Milano De Vries J. Utrecht Ripert L. -- Delitala G. Sassari Servais C. Gand Duran-Loriga J. La Coruna Severi F. Torino Gamboli D. Arezzo Strazzeri V. Palermo Gelin E. Huy Tzitzéica G. Bucarest • A complete bibliography of mathematicians who dealt with the geometry triangle between 1895 and 1905 is due precisely to Alasia and was presented by Henri Brocard at the Congress of the Association Française pour l’Avancement de Sciences held in Lyon in 1906 Among the Collaborators Among the Authors Barbarin Paul Allardice Robert E. Brocard Henri M. Barisien E. N. Cesàro Ernesto Droz-Farny Arnold Duran-Loriga Juan J. Greenstreet William J. Laisant Charles A. Krahe Augusto Lebon Ernest Ripert Léon Lemoine Émil Servais Clément J. Vries Jan de Biasi G. Delitala G. The closest Italian collaborator of Alasia is Virginio Retali (1853-1930) . His role in the journal is that of vice-director. He graduated in Pisa and was a teacher at high school C. Beccaria in Milan. It seems that he also had many relationships with foreign colleagues.
“Droz-Farny kept correspondence with a number of mathematicians, among them Virginio Retali in Italy, and Juan Jacobo Duran Loriga in Spain. “
The necrology was translated in English by Bruce George Halsted for the American Mathematical Monthly (v. 8, 1901, pp. 130-133) and for Science (v. 13, 1901, pp. 883-885).
• ARTICOLI They were especially geometry articles on curves, surfaces, non-Euclidean geometry and geometry triangle. But there were also articles on the calculation of integrals, series, group theory, determinants and vector calculus in relation to the applications to mechanical, projective and differential geometry.
• NOTE It contained short articles, mathematical news sometimes taken from other journals
• Dean Reginald W. Sull’equazione generale di un luogo di 2° grado American Mathematical Monthly (by Alasia) • Heawood Percy J. Quadrilateri connessi da quattro forze compalnari in equilibrio The Mathematical Gazette (by Alasia) • Lemoine E. La stereografia o la Geometrografia Scienzia, Physics-Mathematics C. Naud (by Alasia) • Brill J. Sulle equazioni di 3° e 4° grado The Mathematical Gazette (by Alasia) • Amodeo F. 1)Uno sguardo alle curve algebriche in base alla gonalità; 2)Curve di gonalità k con punti fissi nella (k-1)esima serie canonica e curve normali del piano; 3)Contributo alla determinazione delle sovrabbondanze dei sistemi di curve aggiunte alle curve algebriche Periodico di Matematica, R. Acc. delle Scienze di Napoli (by Alasia) • Finkel B.F. A proposito di un teorema analitico geometrico American Mathematical Monthly (by Alasia) • Barisien E.N. Rette coniugate isotomiche risp. ad un triangolo, sono asintoti di un iperbole ad esso circoscritto Annals of Mathematics • Krake A. Alcuni teoremi sulle figure curvilinee • Barisien E. Su di una proprietà dei numeri • Alasia C. Valori di alcuni integrali • Alasia C. Meccanica Polare. • Mathy E. Distanza dall’origine ad un punto (u, v, w) in coordinate ellittiche • Barisien E. Proprietà nella teoria dei numeri • Hatzidakis I. Un teorema sui determinanti American Journal of Mathematics (by Alasia) • Miller G. Sui gruppi generati da due operatori • Alasia C. Su di un recente studio del moto turbato
•QUESTIONI / SOLUZIONI • SOGGETTI DI RICERCHE •BIBLIOGRAFIA
It contained reviews of books Most of the reviewed books were foreigners (60%). The reviewers were: C. Alasia, V. Retali, G. Biasi, E. Nannei, F. Giudice, R. Marcolongo, V. Strazzeri , G. Boccardini, P.Burgatti, W.H. Velling, E. Cerreto, G. Pirondini.
Alasia knew Laisant very well. You can read that they were friends in Alasia’s article , Giusto Bellavitis sa correspondance scientifique, published in L’Enseignement Mathématique (vol.8,1906).
Alasia wrote a lot of reviews for L’Enseignement Mathématique, and also his works were reviewed in the journal, as his main publication La recente geometria del triangolo which got a good review by Lèon Ripert (v. 3, 1901). Editors Journal Debut
C. Laisant L’Enseignement Paris 1899 H. Fehr Mathématique
C. Laisant L’Intermédiaire des Paris 1894 E. Lemoine Mathématiciens
C. Laisant Nouvelles Annals Paris 1842 (and other...) de Mathématiques Editor Journal Debut R.E. Allardice Proceedings of the Edinburgh Edinburgh 1884 (in 1890-91) Mathematical Society
G. De Galdeano El Progreso Matemático Zaragoza 1891
W. Greenstreet The Mathematical Gazette London 1896
G. Loria Bollettino di Biliografia e Storia delle Torino 1898 Scienze Matematiche
P. Mansion Mathesis:Recueil mathématique Gand 1881 (whit J. Neuberg) G. Peano Rivista di Matematica Torino 1891
A. Vassilief Bulletin de la Société Physico- Kazan 1891 Mathématique de Kazan
Then certainly in his editorial project, Alasia was influenced by the format of these journals. ARTICLES QUESTIONS RESEARCH NOTES BIBL. SOLUTIONS SUBJECTS
El Progreso X X X L’Enseignement X X
L’Intermédiaire X X Loria’s Bollettino X X
Mathesis X X X X Nouvelles Annals X X X
Rivista di X X Matematica The Gazette X X X X Conclusions:
Alasia had the aim to create an international communication on teaching topics, to popularize and to stimulate research among the readers. To realize this program, Alasia used a “network of international collaborations”, and designed a journal format by looking at the formats of other journals and taking what it believed to be useful to his editorial project
First consideration: We have seen that there are several common points between the journal formats. Each journal, according to their own editorial project, chooses its own format also looking at other formats. Can we also talk about circulation of journal formats?
The second consideration is related to the “international nature of journals”.
There were journals that were born national but were designed to be international, in order to support the progress of mathematics.
Annali di Matematica Pura ed Applicata, Rivista di Matematica Rendiconti del Circolo Matematico di Palermo Acta Mathematica Journal de Mathématiques pures et appliqués, Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik, American Journal of Mathematics, L’Enseignement Mathématiques. ……………………… There were journals that were born with a national editorial project, without international aspirations, but that contained international contributions. We distinguish two cases: • journals with foreign contributions, which didn’t have relevance for the editorial project Giornale di Matematiche di Battaglini The Mathematical Gazette, Mathesis:Recueil mathématique, Nouvelles Annales de Mathématiques
• journals, whose editorial project included the publications of foreign articles to stimulate studies and research, and for this aim had a “network of international collaborations”
Le Matematiche Pure ed Applicate Gaceta de Matemáticas Elementare
The Gaceta de Matemáticas Elementare was a Spanish journal founded by Angel Bozal Obejero in 1903. Its format is as follows: • Biographies (Biográfica) • Articles (Doctrinal) • Notes of Mathematics (Notas matemáticas) • Bibliography (Bibliográfica) • Information (Información) • Questions and Solutions (Investigación)
In the section of biographies, besides Alasia’s biography, the Gaceta also published those of other mathematicians, among them we find: Barisién, De Galdeano, Halsted, Durán Loriga, Lemoine, Laisant, Loria, Lebon, Barbarin, D’Ocagne. These biographies were probably used probably to join of the ”network of international collaborations” useful to his editorial project.
•SUPPLEMENTI In the journal we also find two additions published: The first was the presentation of Dizionario di Matematica of Peano, with the publication of the part relating to Mathematical Logic; The second was a homage by Alasia to Halsted on the occasion of his appointment as President of the Mathematics and Astronomy Section of the American Society for the Advancement of Science.
The closest Italian collaborator of Alasia is Virginio Retali (1853-1930) . His role in the journal is that of vice-director. He graduated in Pisa and was a teacher at high school C. Beccaria in Milan. It seems that he also had many relationships with foreign colleagues. Eduardo L. Ortiz wrote: “Droz-Farny kept correspondence with a number of mathematicians, among them Virginio Retali in Italy, and Juan Jacobo Duran Loriga in Spain. “