Department of Mathematics
Heads of the department
| John D. Runkle | 1865-1902 |
| Harry Walter Tyler | 1902-1930 |
| Frederick S. Woods | 1930-1934 |
| Henry Bayard Phillips | 1934-1947 |
| William Ted Martin | 1947-1968 |
| Norman Levinson | 1968-1971 |
| Kenneth M. Hoffman | 1971-1978 |
| Daniel Kleitman | 1978-1983 |
| Arthur P. Mattuck | 1983-1989 |
| David Benney | 1989-1999 |
| David A. Vogan, Jr. | 1999-2004 |
| Michael Sipser | 2004-2014 |
| Tomasz S. Mrowka | 2014- |
Mathematics was taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from the time the Institute first held classes in 1865. John D. Runkle, second president of MIT, oversaw the mathematics program until his death in 1902; he viewed it as a service department for the instruction of engineers. For many years the mathematics department was Section III of Course IX, General Studies.
In 1933, under the direction of MIT president Karl Taylor Compton who strengthened the study and research of scientific disciplines at the Institute, mathematics became an independent department, designated Course XVIII in the School of Science.
Prepared by the Department of Distinctive Collections, MIT Libraries
October 1995; updated October 2003, 2014