Florence Yeldham
{{short description|British mathematician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Florence Yeldham
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Florence Annie Yeldham
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1877|10|30|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Brightling, Battle, Sussex, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|01|10|1877|10|30|df=yes}}
| death_place = Metropolitan Convalescent Home, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England
| other_names =
| occupation = School teacher, historian of arithmetic
| known_for = Supporting the idea of following history of mathematics as a motive to teach arithmetic
}}
Florence Annie Yeldham (30 October 1877 – 10 January 1945){{cite ODNB|first=A. E. L. |last=Davis|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/60254 |chapter=Yeldham, Florence Annie (1877–1945) |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/60254 }} was a British school teacher and historian of arithmetic. She supported the idea of following the history of mathematics as a motive to teach arithmetic.
Early life and education
Florence Yeldham was born at School House, Brightling, Battle, East Sussex, on 30 October 1877, the daughter of school teacher Thomas Yeldham, who later became a school inspector, and his wife, Elizabeth Ann Chesterfield. She was the second daughter and second of at least seven children. She was not originally from London but moved there from Sussex and studied in James Allen's Girls' School, Dulwich.
James Allen's Girls' School awarded her an exhibition to go to Bedford College, University of London, from where she matriculated in 1895. Yeldham graduated with a BSc (division two) in 1900, having chosen papers in pure mathematics, experimental physics, and zoology. Whilst she is listed as having gained honours, which one would have expected, no details have been found.
Career
Although she did not enjoy a remarkable teaching career, Yeldham wrote books herself. She produced her first printed work in 1913. Her works include The Story of Reckoning in the Middle Ages,{{cite book|last=Tomash|first=Erwin|title=Erwin Tomash Library Catalog|year=2008|publisher=The Erwin Tomash Library|pages=1390–1391|url=http://www.cbi.umn.edu/hostedpublications/Tomash/pdf/25%20Y%20chapter.pdf|author2=Williams, Michael R.|chapter=Yeldham, Florence Annie}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u264AAAAIAAJ |title=The Story of Reckoning in the Middle Ages |first=Florence Annie |last=Yeldham |publisher=G.G. Harrap & Co. |date=1926}} Review:
- {{cite journal|journal= Journal of the Institute of Actuaries |volume=58|issue=3|title=none|doi=10.1017/S0020268100031620|jstor= 41138336 |pages=332–333|date=November 1927}} The Teaching of Arithmetic Through 400 Years, 1535–1935,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7BAJcgAACAAJ |title=The Teaching of Arithmetic Through 400 Years, 1535–1935 |first= Florence Annie |last=Yeldham |publisher=Harrap |year=1936}} Reviews:
- {{cite journal|journal= Journal of the Institute of Actuaries |volume=68|issue=1|title=none|jstor= 41131798 |page=195|date=November 1936}}
- {{cite journal|journal=Isis|first=Louis C.|last=Karpinski|volume=27|issue=1|pages=92–94|jstor= 225032 |title=none|year=1937|doi=10.1086/347228}}
- {{cite journal|journal=The Mathematical Gazette|author=R. S. W.|volume=20|issue=241|pages=350–351|title=none|doi=10.2307/3607335|jstor=3607335}} A Study of Mathematical Methods in England to the Thirteenth Century{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WN8ynQEACAAJ |title=A Study of Mathematical Methods in England to the Thirteenth Century |first=Florence Annie |last=Yeldham |publisher=University of London |year=1926}} and Percentage Tables.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3spRnQEACAAJ |title=Percentage Tables |first=Florence Annie |last=Yeldham |year=1913 |publisher=Pitman}} Her books were well regarded and included reference material which was not easily available.
Yeldham fell victim to chronic arthritis, which made her final years uncomfortable. She died while staying at Metropolitan Convalescent Home, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, where she spent the last six months of her life.
References
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Category:19th-century British mathematicians
Category:20th-century British mathematicians
Category:British non-fiction writers
Category:People from Brightling
Category:People educated at James Allen's Girls' School
Category:Alumni of Bedford College, London
Category:20th-century English women writers
Category:20th-century English writers
Category:19th-century English women writers
Category:19th-century British writers
Category:20th-century British women scientists
Category:Schoolteachers from Sussex