Irving Adler
Irving Adler was an influential American mathematician, educator, and author born on April 27, 1913, in Harlem, New York City, to Polish immigrant parents. Known for his intellect and passion for education, Adler achieved significant academic milestones, including a B.S. from the City College of New York and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Columbia University. Throughout his career, he taught high school mathematics in New York City and later served as an instructor at Columbia University and Bennington College. Adler was dedicated to making scientific concepts accessible to children, resulting in the publication of over eighty books aimed at young readers, often illustrated and co-authored with his wife and daughter. His contributions to education were recognized with various awards, including fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Despite personal losses, including the passing of his first wife, Ruth, Adler continued to impact the field of education until his death in 1997. His legacy lies in his ability to simplify complex ideas and inspire curiosity in science and mathematics among young learners.
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Irving Adler
- Born: April 27, 1913
- Birthplace: Harlem, New York
- Died: September 22, 2012
Biography
Irving Adler was born in the Harlem area of New York City on April 27, 1913, the third of five children of Polish immigrants. His parents named him “Yitzchak,” but an elementary school clerk renamed him “Irving.” He skipped five and a half years in elementary school, even though from an early age he spent long hours working in his father’s ice business. At eleven, Irving entered an accelerated high school. When his father went back to house painting, the family moved to the Bronx.
At fourteen, Adler entered the City College of New York, majoring in mathematics and physics. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as a junior and received his B.S., magna cum laude, in 1931. He then began postgraduate work at Columbia University, while also taking night classes in pedagogy at CCNY. Adler earned his M.A. in 1938 and was awarded a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1961. While organizing anti-war demonstrations at Barnard College, Adler met Ruth Relis, a student. They were married in 1935. They had two children, Stephen and Peggy. After Ruth Adler died of breast cancer in 1968, Adler met and later married Joyce Sparer, who had been teaching literature in Guyana. She died in 1999.
From 1932 to 1952, Adler taught mathematics in New York City high schools. Meanwhile, he had become convinced that many scientific theories could be explained to children. After his first book, The Secret of Light, was published in 1952, Ruth Adler began illustrating her husband’s works; in 1960, she became his co-author. Later Peggy Adler illustrated or co- authored a number of books with her father. Joyce Adler wrote one book with her husband, Language and Man.
Even after becoming a full-time writer, Adler sometimes returned to teaching. From 1957 to 1960, he was an instructor at Columbia University. After the Adlers moved to rural Shaftesbury, Vermont, in 1960, Adler taught at Bennington College, and in 1983, at Southern Vermont College. Adler was also a consultant and a guest lecturer at conferences throughout the world.
In 1959, Adler was awarded a fellowship by the National Science Foundation. For their children’s books, Ruth and Irving Adler were joint recipients of an award from the New York State Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1961, and of citations from the National Science Teachers Association and the Children’s Book Council in 1972, 1975, 1980, and 1990. Irving Adler was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1982 and a fellow of the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1985. He was awarded the Townsend Harris Medal, City College Alumni Association, in 1993, and was elected to the Townsend Harris High School hall of fame in 1996, the year before his death.
Irving Adler wrote or co-authored more than eighty books for children and nine for adults on mathematics and on scientific topics. His mastery of language and his imaginative use of analogies enabled Adler to explain complex ideas in simple terms, thus transmitting to his readers his own enthusiasm for the subjects to which he had devoted his life.