Norman Woodason Johnson (November 12, 1930 – July 13, 2017) was a mathematicianatWheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts.[1]
Norman Johnson
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| Born | (1930-11-12)November 12, 1930
Chicago, United States
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| Died | July 13, 2017(2017-07-13) (aged 86) |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto |
| Known for | Johnson solid (1966) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts |
| Doctoral advisor | H. S. M. Coxeter |
Norman Johnson was born on November 12, 1930 in Chicago. His father had a bookstore and published a local newspaper.[1]
Johnson earned his undergraduate mathematics degree in 1953 at Carleton CollegeinNorthfield, Minnesota[2] followed by a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh.[1] After graduating in 1953, Johnson did alternative civilian service as a conscientious objector.[1] He earned his PhD from the University of Toronto in 1966 with a dissertation title of The Theory of Uniform Polytopes and Honeycombs under the supervision of H. S. M. Coxeter. From there, he accepted a position in the Mathematics Department of Wheaton College in Massachusetts and taught until his retirement in 1998.[1]
In 1966, he enumerated 92 convex non-uniform polyhedra with regular faces. Victor Zalgaller later proved (1969) that Johnson's list was complete, and the set is now known as the Johnson solids.[3][4]
Johnson is also credited with naming all the uniform star polyhedra and their duals, as published in Magnus Wenninger's model building books: Polyhedron models (1971) and Dual models (1983).[5]
He completed final edits for his book Geometries and Transformations just before his death on July 13, 2017, and nearly completed his manuscript on uniform polytopes.[1]
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