Alfred North Whitehead Gerardo Moran Per.

The life of Alfred North Whitehead defines a bi-continental achiever in the

learning, study and application of Mathematics, Logic, Science and Philosophy. Alfred

North Whitehead, born in 15 Feb 1861 in Ramsgate, Kent, England, lived a guarded

infancy in the care of his parents as the youngest of four children. Considered a sickly

and fragile kid, as such, he was the baby of the family and taught primary school at home

until the age of 14.

Alfred attended the best public school at the time in England, Sherborn School Dorset,

and became throughout the years a successful sport player, math student and leader

among his class. Taught Latin, and Greek among other major subjects Alfred developed

an unexpected and never before shown interest in the subject of Mathematics. Dropping

such subjects as Latin poetry reading and composition he dedicated his time to excel in

the subject of Mathematics. Consequently this provided a great benefit for Alfred.

Most proudly did Alfred decide to become a College student when in the year of 1880

he entered Cambridge Trinity College, with a won scholarship the year previous of his

graduation from Sherborn. Whitehead studied theology and became mostly devoted in the

lectures of Mathematics throughout the beginning of his first year at Cambridge. Yet the

second year approaching again he acquired a second scholarship.

Alfred assured his strength and rose to be a teacher in 1888 at Cambridge. He taught

college education for 12 years most concerning with the subject of applied Mathematics.
In 1890 he married an active an outgoing gal named Evelyn Wade and married her in

London.

Whereas Alfred found to be a restrained and quiet man who found teaching as his

strength, with time became more interested in publishing, he began working on Treatise

on Universal Algebra just weeks after his marriage with one of his pupils called Bertrand

Russell the work took 7 years to complete. In 1910 Alfred with his wife and three

children moved to London after a series of unfortunate events in Cambridge. Alfred, not

sufficed with his accomplishments in Cambridge he found himself and his family, with

no job to attend and not one proper proposition of work for Alfred that he would agree to

take on. Four years later he took on the position of Professor of Applied Mathematics at

the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London.

During his time in London he wrote on the philosophy of science and interested himself

on the subject of physics. At the time he also developed a contradictory doctrine to

Einstein’s general relativity, The Principle of Relativity but became discredited with

findings. In 1924, at the age of 63, he was invited to take position in American College

education again, but this time at Harvard University. Purposely to implement ideas and

teachings in philosophy, Whitehead astonished at the invitation agreed to part-take a

fascinating subject in which he had never studied or taught. The Whiteheads took on the

journey towards the United States.

 Throughout the years in the United States Alfred became a recognized philosopher with

appreciated works such as the Process And Reality and the Science and the Modern

World, in the study of ideas in history.

Throughout his career Alfred received many honors such as being elected to the Royal

society in 1903, a Society’s Silver Medal in 1925 based o his work on foundations of

mathematics and study of physical concepts. He became the first awarded winner of the

James Scott Prize in 1922 as well as university honorary degrees from Manchester,

Harvard, Montreal, Yael, and St. Andrews.

Whitehead retired form teaching in 1937 and died 10 years later in 1947 in Cambridge,

Massachusetts. He had no funeral, other than a cremation. Whitehead’s work compilation

nowadays is difficult for Whitehead gave out instructions to his family members to

destroy all types of works after his death. Whitehead to this day proves to be a man of

restrained thoughts with much offered to society and multiple achievements in life.

Alfred North Whitehead died on December 30, 1947 at the age of 86.