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Submitted: 12/22/22 • Approved: 12/27/22 • Last Updated: 12/30/22 • R552479-G0-S3
October 3, 1891 - May 18, 1974
*Obituary
From the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, May 20, 1974, p. 6:
Former Tech Math Head Ralph Underwood Dies
Dr. Ralph S. Underwood, 82, whose research in the field of mathematics brought him nationwide recognition, died Saturday in Midland while competing in a chess tournament.
Dr. Underwood, who cinched the Lubbock chess tournament several years in a row, was a former head of the Department of Mathematics at Texas Tech University, joining the faculty in 1927. He and his wife lived at 2220 Broadway.
Graveside services for the professor, who retired in 1965, will be at 3 p.m. today in Resthaven Memorial Park. The Rev. Alfred Judd, pastor of the First Unitarian Universalist Church, will officiate. A service of memory will be held at 2 p.m. June 2 at the Unitarian Church, the Rev. Judd said.
Dr. Underwood received a B.A. in mathematics and an M.A. in astronomy from the University of Minnesota in 1917 and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1930.
After service in World War I, he taught at Purdue University and Auburn University before joining Tech in its early years of existence.
At Tech, he taught both astronomy and math, pioneering a field of mathematics known as extended analytical geometry. He has authored texts in intermediate algebra, analytic geometry and practical trigonometry, as well as two books entitled "Jaunts into Space" and "Living Mathematics."
His honors include Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi and "Piper Professor of 1959," an award given to 10 Texas professors annually since 1958. His honorary and professional society memberships include the American Mathematical Society, Math Association of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Texas Academy of Sciences.
He married Zelda Ray Feb. 1, 1930, in Lubbock. (Note: wedding actually took place in Clovis, NM)
He is survived by his wife; a brother, Vernon of South Gale, Calif.; and a sister, Mrs. Lynn French of Denver, Colo.
Contributed on 12/22/22 by texasfindagraver
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Record #: 552479