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Revision as of 15:22, 20 September 2006 by Elonka (talk | contribs) (Created page)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Jeremiah Farrell (b. 1937, Hastings, Nebraska), is an American professor emeritus of mathematics at Butler University in Indiana. He is well-known for having designed Will Shortz's favorite puzzle, the 1996 "Election Day" crossword in the New York Times. He has also written puzzles for many other books and newspapers. He has been referenced in several books, and in Scott Kim's puzzle column for Discover magazine.
Biography
Born in Hastings, Nebraska, his father, Paul Farrell, was a third generation railroad man. His mother, Belle Einsphar, raised Farrell and his two younger sisters. He attended Hastings High School, graduating in 1955, and then going on to the University of Nebraska, graduating in 1963 with degrees in mathematics, chemistry, and physics. He later obtained a Master's degree in mathematics, and was hired as a teacher in 1966 at Butler University. Over the next 40 years, he has taught nearly every subject in the mathematics department. He officially retired in 1994, but has continued to teach every semester.
With his wife Karen, Farrell has organized the biannual "Gatherings for Gardner", which started in 1992 as an invitation-only event for people connected with Martin Gardner.
Farrell worked on the railroad for one summer. He worked as a "grinder", beveling the tracks so that they would stay level.
Farrell and his wife also publish of a quarterly journal called "Wordways, the journal of recreational linguistics."
ex-railroad man, ex-newspaper man, director of observatory, ex-professor, member of the Flat Earth Society. Dennis E. Shasha has awarded Farrell the title of "Omniheurist, first-class." (Indianapolis Star)
Contributed works
- Zen and the Art of Magic Squares
- A.K. Peters publications (where he is called a "mathemagician"
- Discover magazine
References
- NYT "Election Day" crossword
- New York Sun, "A Washington Square Park Is Solved", May 19-21, 2006
- Indianapolis Star, May 25, 2006, "Butler Prof Figures It Out"