# Chandler Davis > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Chandler_Davis > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Chandler_Davis.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandler_Davis > Source revision: 1352325965 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Canadian mathematician and writer (1926–2022)}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Chandler Davis | image = Chandler Davis in September 2011.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Davis in 2011 | birth_name = Horace Chandler Davis | birth_date = {{birth date |1926|08|12}} | birth_place = [Ithaca, New York](/source/Ithaca%2C_New_York), U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2022|09|24|1926|08|12}} | death_place = [Toronto](/source/Toronto), Canada | fields = [Mathematics](/source/Mathematics) | workplaces = [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto) | patrons = | education = | alma_mater = [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) | thesis_title = Lattices and Modal Operators | thesis_url = | thesis_year = 1950 | doctoral_advisor = [Garrett Birkhoff](/source/Garrett_Birkhoff) | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = [John Benedetto](/source/John_Benedetto)
{{ill|Mehdi Radjabalipour|fa|مهدی_رجبعلی%E2%80%8Cپور}}
{{ill|Man-Duen Choi|de|Man-Duen Choi}} | notable_students = | known_for = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | author_abbrev_bot = | author_abbrev_zoo = | spouse = [Natalie Zemon Davis](/source/Natalie_Zemon_Davis) | partner = | children = 3 | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Horace Chandler Davis''' (August 12, 1926 – September 24, 2022) was an American-Canadian mathematician, writer, educator, and left-wing political activist. The socialist magazine ''[Jacobin](/source/Jacobin_(magazine))'' described Davis as "an internationally esteemed mathematician, a minor science fiction writer of note, and among the most celebrated [political prisoners in the United States](/source/political_prisoners_in_the_United_States) during the years of the high Cold War". {{cite journal | first = Alan M. | last = Wald | author-link = Alan M. Wald | title = H. Chandler Davis Was a Lifelong Radical and a Moral Touchstone for the Left | journal = Jacobin | url = https://jacobin.com/2022/10/h-chandler-davis-lifelong-radical-communism-academia-obituary | date = October 2022 | access-date = 27 December 2022 }} == Background == Horace Chandler Davis, known as "Chan" by friends, was born on August 12, 1926, in [Ithaca, New York](/source/Ithaca%2C_New_York), to parents [Horace Bancroft Davis](/source/Horace_B._Davis) and Marian Rubins, both members of the [Communist Party USA](/source/Communist_Party_USA) (CPUSA). He joined the [Young Pioneers of America](/source/Young_Pioneers_of_America) while in elementary school. Because of their politics, his parents moved frequently, so that Davis spent a year of his childhood in Brazil. In 1942, age 16, he received a Harvard National Scholarship. At Harvard, he joined the Astounding Science-Fiction Fanclub, whose members included [John B. Michel](/source/John_B._Michel), [Frederik Pohl](/source/Frederik_Pohl), [Isaac Asimov](/source/Isaac_Asimov), and [Donald Wollheim](/source/Donald_Wollheim). In 1943, Davis joined the [Communist Party USA](/source/Communist_Party_USA) but left soon after so he could join the U.S. Navy for officers training. In 1945, Davis graduated Harvard early and also received a commission from Naval Reserve Midshipman's School and spent a year in the U.S. Navy as a minesweeper. In 1946, he returned to Harvard as a graduate student in mathematics, rejoined the CPUSA, and joined the [Federation of American Scientists](/source/Federation_of_American_Scientists), founded by former members of the [Manhattan Project](/source/Manhattan_Project). In 1948, he supported [Henry A. Wallace](/source/Henry_A._Wallace), [Progressive Party](/source/Progressive_Party_(United_States%2C_1948)) candidate for the [1948 United States presidential election](/source/1948_United_States_presidential_election). In 1950, Davis received a doctorate in mathematics from [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University).{{cite book | last=Tuck | first=Donald H. | author-link=Donald H. Tuck | title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy | location=Chicago | publisher=[Advent](/source/Advent_(publisher)) | year=1974|isbn=0-911682-20-1 | page=129}}{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100225121152/http://www.coolbeat.biz/item/053/the-nightmare.htm The Nightmare by Chan Davis: About the author]}} == Career == In 1950, Davis turned down an offer from the [University of California Los Angeles](/source/University_of_California_Los_Angeles) (UCLA) due to loyalty oath requirements and accepted a position as instructor at the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan) (UM). Davis left the CPUSA the following year. In 1953, Davis received a subpoena to appear before the [House Un-American Activities Committee](/source/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee) (HUAC). In 1954, UM suspended Davis, Clement Markert, and Mark Nickerson for refusing to cooperate with HUAC hearings held in Lansing, Michigan. Makert and Nickerson pled under the [Fifth Amendment](/source/Fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) (right to avoid self-incrimination), while Davis pled the [First Amendment](/source/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) (right to free speech). He hoped to establish a precedent that HUAC could not question witnesses on their political affiliations, but the U.S. Supreme Court in 1959 refused to hear his case.{{cite web |last1=Rosenthal |first1=Peter |title=Activist U of T math professor Chandler Davis devoted himself to progressive causes |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-activist-u-of-t-math-professor-chandler-davis-devoted-himself-to/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=7 July 2023 |date=13 October 2022}} After years of appeals, in 1960, Davis received a six-month jail sentence, served at a prison in Danbury, Connecticut. In 1962, Davis accepted a teaching position at the [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto). He specialized in algebra and operator theory (a branch of functional analysis). In 1968, the [Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia](/source/Warsaw_Pact_invasion_of_Czechoslovakia) ended Davis's CPUSA membership for good. He remained a political activist. For example, in 1971, he traveled to [North Vietnam](/source/North_Vietnam) with other mathematicians including [Laurent Schwartz](/source/Laurent_Schwartz). He also was an advocate for Palestinian rights. In July 2022, he publicly supported Russian mathematician [Azat Miftakhov](/source/Azat_Miftakhov). === Mathematics === Davis's principal research investigations involved [linear algebra](/source/linear_algebra) and [operator theory](/source/operator_theory) in [Hilbert space](/source/Hilbert_space)s. Furthermore, he made contributions to [numerical analysis](/source/numerical_analysis), [geometry](/source/geometry), and [algebraic logic](/source/algebraic_logic). He is one of the eponyms of the [Davis–Kahan theorem](/source/Davis%E2%80%93Kahan_theorem) and [Bhatia–Davis inequality](/source/Bhatia%E2%80%93Davis_inequality) (along with [Rajendra Bhatia](/source/Rajendra_Bhatia)). The [Davis–Kahan–Weinberger dilation theorem](/source/Davis%E2%80%93Kahan%E2%80%93Weinberger_dilation_theorem){{cite journal | last=Davis | first=Chandler | last2=Kahan | first2=W. M. | last3=Weinberger | first3=H. F. | title=Norm-Preserving Dilations and Their Applications to Optimal Error Bounds | journal=SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis | volume=19 | issue=3 | date=1982 | issn=0036-1429 | doi=10.1137/0719029 | pages=445–469}} is one of the landmark results in the dilation theory of Hilbert space operators and has found applications in many different areas. A PhD thesis titled "Backward Perturbation and Sensitivity Analysis of Structured Polynomial Eigenomial Eigenvalue Problem"{{cite web | last=Adhikari | first=Bibhas | title=Backward Perturbation and Sensitivity analysis of Structured polynomial Eigenomial Eigenvalue Problem | website=LBCL Digital Repository | date=2015-09-16 | url=http://gyan.iitg.ernet.in/handle/123456789/226 | access-date=2022-11-26}} is dedicated to this theorem. Davis wrote around eighty research papers in mathematics.{{cite journal | last=Choi | first=Man-Duen | last2=Rosenthal | first2=Peter | title=A survey of Chandler Davis | journal=Linear Algebra and its Applications | volume=208-209 | date=1994 | doi=10.1016/0024-3795(94)90426-X | doi-access=free | pages=3–18}} Davis was a professor in the mathematics department of [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan), working alongside [Wilfred Kaplan](/source/Wilfred_Kaplan). In the Mathematics Genealogy Project, he is listed as having 15 PhD (1964–2001), and 213 PhD descendants of his former doctoral students, with 107 being of them from his student [John Benedetto](/source/John_Benedetto) (PhD 1964).https://mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=7618/ Mathematics Genealogy Project He was one of the co-editors-in-chief of the ''[Mathematical Intelligencer](/source/Mathematical_Intelligencer)''. In 2012 he became a fellow of the [American Mathematical Society](/source/American_Mathematical_Society).[https://www.ams.org/profession/fellows-list List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society], retrieved 2012-11-10. He was part of the 2019 class of fellows of the [Association for Women in Mathematics](/source/Association_for_Women_in_Mathematics).{{citation |url=https://awm-math.org/awards/awm-fellows/2019-awm-fellows/ |title=2019 Class of AWM Fellows |publisher=[Association for Women in Mathematics](/source/Association_for_Women_in_Mathematics) |accessdate=2019-01-08 }} === Fiction === Davis began his writing career in ''[Astounding Science Fiction](/source/Astounding_Science_Fiction)'' in 1946. From 1946 through 1962 he produced a spate of science fiction stories, mostly published there. One of the earliest, published May 1946, was ''The Nightmare'', later the lead story in ''[A Treasury of Science Fiction](/source/A_Treasury_of_Science_Fiction)'', edited by [Groff Conklin](/source/Groff_Conklin); it argued for a national policy of decentralizing industry to evade nuclear attacks by terrorists. He also issued the fanzine "Blitherings" in the 1940s. He attended [Torcon I, the 6th](/source/6th_World_Science_Fiction_Convention) [World Science Fiction Convention](/source/World_Science_Fiction_Convention) in 1948, appeared at the 2010 [SFContario](/source/SFContario) [science fiction convention](/source/science_fiction_convention),[http://www.sfcontario.ca/program/program-descriptions.php "Chandler Davis in Fannish Conversation". ''SFContario 2010 Panel Descriptions''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123062824/http://www.sfcontario.ca/program/program-descriptions.php |date=November 23, 2010 }} and was Science Guest of Honor at the 2013 [SFContario](/source/SFContario) [science fiction convention](/source/science_fiction_convention).[https://www.analogsf.com/2013_11/events.shtml "Upcoming Events". ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509222408/https://www.analogsf.com/2013_11/events.shtml |date=2016-05-09 }} === Politics === thumb|right|Davis in 1975. Davis came from a radical family and identified himself as a [socialist](/source/socialist) and former member of the [Communist Party of America](/source/Communist_Party_of_America).{{cite web | last=Hedges | first=Chris | title=The Origin of America's Intellectual Vacuum | website=Truthout | date=November 15, 2010 | url=https://truthout.org/articles/the-origin-of-america/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120113641/http://www.truth-out.org/the-origin-americas-intellectual-vacuum65129 | archive-date=November 20, 2010| quote=It wasn't a cinch I would be in the Communist Party, but in fact I was, starting in 1943 and then resigning soon after on instructions from the party because I was in the military service. This was part of the coexistence of the Communist Party with Roosevelt and the military. It would not disrupt things during the war. When I got out of the Navy I rejoined the Communist Party, but that lapsed in June of 1953. I never got back in touch with them. At the time I was subpoenaed I was technically an ex-Communist, but I did not feel I had left the movement and in some sense I never did.| access-date=2025-05-11}} Davis—along with two other professors, Mark Nickerson and [Clement Markert](/source/Clement_Markert)—refused to cooperate with the [House Unamerican Activities Committee](/source/House_Unamerican_Activities_Committee) and was subsequently dismissed from the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan). Davis was then sentenced to a six-month prison term where he was able to do some research. A paper from this era has the following acknowledgement: {{blockquote|Research supported in part by the Federal Prison System. Opinions expressed in this paper are the author's and are not necessarily those of the [Bureau of Prisons](/source/Bureau_of_Prisons).Page 181 in {{cite book | first=Chandler|last=Davis | chapter=An extremum problem for plane convex curves | pages=181–185 |editor=Victor L. Klee |editor-link=Victor L. Klee | title=Convexity | series=Proceedings of Symposia in Pure Mathematics| volume=VII | publisher=American Mathematical Society| location=Providence, Rhode Island| year=1963| id= catalog #63-10760| mr=154189 }}. Excerpt in [https://books.google.com/books?id=MuEFJR7Ek4EC&dq=%22An+extremal+problem+for+plane+convex+curves%22&q=Prison Google Books].}} The Federal government released Davis from prison in 1960.[http://www.pseudopodium.org/repress/chandler-davis/DidTheRedHuntWin.html "Shooting Rats in a Barrel": Did the Red-hunt Win?] After his release, Davis moved to Canada, where he worked at the University of Toronto. He also opposed the Vietnam War and was chair of the Toronto Anti-Draft Committee. In 1991, the University of Michigan Senate initiated the annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom.{{cite web | title=Davis Markert Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom | website=Academic Freedom Lecture Fund |url=https://www.academicfreedomlecturefund.com/history | access-date=2022-11-26}} Recent speakers have included: [Cass Sunstein](/source/Cass_Sunstein) (2008), [Nadine Strossen](/source/Nadine_Strossen) (2007), [Bill Keller](/source/Bill_Keller) (2006), [Floyd Abrams](/source/Floyd_Abrams) (2005), and [Noam Chomsky](/source/Noam_Chomsky) (2004). == Personal life and death == In 1948, Davis married [Natalie Zemon Davis](/source/Natalie_Zemon_Davis) (author of the book and co-scriptwriter of the movie ''[The Return of Martin Guerre](/source/The_Return_of_Martin_Guerre)''); they had three children. H. Chandler Davis died on September 24, 2022.{{cite web |title=Chandler Davis in memoriam |url=https://caseazatmiftakhov.org/2022/09/28/chandler-davis-in-memoriam/ |author=Azat Miftakhov Committee |website=The case of Azat Miftakhov |access-date=20 October 2022 |date=September 28, 2022}} == Honors == Three mathematical theorems are named in Davis's honor: the [Davis–Kahan theorem](/source/Davis%E2%80%93Kahan_theorem) on how eigenspaces of an operator change under perturbation; the [Bhatia–Davis inequality](/source/Bhatia%E2%80%93Davis_inequality), bounding the variance of a given probability distribution on the real line; and the Davis–Kahan–Weinberger theorem on norm-preserving dilations of Hilbert space operators. A lecture in honor of his stand for his beliefs is now held at the University of Michigan, which had fired him. == Legacy == At his death, long-time friend [Alan M. Wald](/source/Alan_M._Wald) wrote, "Chan Davis, who died last month at the age of 96, faced down McCarthyite blacklists and imprisonment to pursue a brilliant academic career. Davis knew how to change and learn from political experience, but he always remained loyal to his socialist principles." == Works == ; Books Edited * ''Linear Algebra and Its Application'' * ''Geometric Vein: The Coxeter Festschrift'' with Branko Grünbaum * ''Coxeter Legacy: Reflections and Projections'' with Erich W. Ellers (2006) * ''Shape of Content: Creative Writing in Mathematics and Science'' with Marjorie Wikler Senechal and Jan Zwicky (2008) ; Poetry * ''Having Come This Far'' (1986) ; Prose * ''It Walks in Beauty: Selected Prose of Chandler Davis'' (2010) ; Journals Edited * ''[The Mathematical Intelligencer](/source/The_Mathematical_Intelligencer)'' == References == {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * {{cite book | last=Batterson | first=Steve | title=The Prosecution of Professor Chandler Davis: McCarthyism, Communism, and the Myth of Academic Freedom | publisher=Monthly Review Press | publication-place=New York | date=2023-08-08 | isbn=978-1-68590-036-6}} * {{cite journal | last=Benedetto | first=John | last2=Choi | first2=Man-Duen | last3=Kirkland | first3=Stephen | title=Chandler Davis as Mentor | journal=The Mathematical Intelligencer | volume=36 | issue=1 | date=2014 | issn=0343-6993 | doi=10.1007/s00283-013-9431-3 | pages=20–21}} * {{cite journal | last=Holbrook | first=John | title=The Mathematics of Chandler Davis | journal=The Mathematical Intelligencer | volume=36 | issue=1 | date=2014 | issn=0343-6993 | doi=10.1007/s00283-013-9432-2 | pages=6–12}} == External sources == {{Commons category|Chandler Davis}} {{Archival records|title=Chandler Davis fonds}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20030310072148/http://www.math.uregina.ca/basterfield/davis.html Biography] at the [University of Regina](/source/University_of_Regina)'s Department of Mathematics & Statistics * {{ISFDB name|id=Chan_Davis|name=Chan Davis}} * [http://facultysenate.umich.edu/about/academic-freedom-lecture/ Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture Series on Academic and Intellectual Freedom] * {{MathGenealogy|id=7618}} * [http://www.juancole.com/2014/08/mccarthy-illinois-policies.html Victim of McCarthy-Era Witch Hunt calls on U-Illinois not to Fire Critic of Israeli Policies] * [https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/chandler-davis-fonds Chandler Davis archival papers] held at the [https://utarms.library.utoronto.ca/ University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Chan}} Category:1926 births Category:2022 deaths Category:Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Science Category:Canadian mathematicians Category:Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Category:Fellows of the Association for Women in Mathematics Category:Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars Category:American science fiction writers Category:Canadian science fiction writers Category:20th-century American mathematicians Category:Canadian socialists Category:American male short story writers Category:American male novelists Category:University of Michigan faculty Category:20th-century American short story writers Category:20th-century American male writers Category:Novelists from Michigan Category:Michigan socialists Category:New York (state) socialists Category:People convicted of contempt of Congress Category:Mathematicians of the University of Toronto --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chandler Davis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandler_Davis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandler_Davis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.