# 3907 - 2005 37c American Scientist: Josiah Willard Gibbs
37¢ Josiah Willard Gibbs
American Scientists
City: New Haven, CT
Printing Method: Lithographed
Color: Multicolored
Birth Of Josiah W. Gibbs
Gibbs’ father was a Yale professor who worked with the Africans of the Amistad Mutiny, translating their stories. Gibbs attended the Hopkins School before attending Yale College at the age of 15. While there he won prizes for excellence in mathematics and Latin. He graduated in 1858 near the top of his class.
Gibbs returned to the US in 1869 and briefly taught French at Yale. Then in 1871, he was made the first professor of mathematical physics at Yale. For nine years he held that position with no pay, living on an inheritance. When another university offered a salary, Yale countered with its own offer. Gibbs stayed at Yale.
In the 1880s, Gibbs focused on vector calculus, particularly in regards to its use by physicists. He also wrote five papers on physical optics and coined the term statistical mechanics. Gibbs is credited with introducing the ideas of chemical potential and statistical ensemble.
Click here to read more about Gibbs’ life and scientific achievements.
37¢ Josiah Willard Gibbs
American Scientists
City: New Haven, CT
Printing Method: Lithographed
Color: Multicolored
Birth Of Josiah W. Gibbs
Gibbs’ father was a Yale professor who worked with the Africans of the Amistad Mutiny, translating their stories. Gibbs attended the Hopkins School before attending Yale College at the age of 15. While there he won prizes for excellence in mathematics and Latin. He graduated in 1858 near the top of his class.
Gibbs returned to the US in 1869 and briefly taught French at Yale. Then in 1871, he was made the first professor of mathematical physics at Yale. For nine years he held that position with no pay, living on an inheritance. When another university offered a salary, Yale countered with its own offer. Gibbs stayed at Yale.
In the 1880s, Gibbs focused on vector calculus, particularly in regards to its use by physicists. He also wrote five papers on physical optics and coined the term statistical mechanics. Gibbs is credited with introducing the ideas of chemical potential and statistical ensemble.
Click here to read more about Gibbs’ life and scientific achievements.