Talk on "Magic Squares"

At a meeting of the Mathematical Club last night H. G. Leach 1G. spoke on "Magic Squares." Little literature, he said, has been published on the subject. The best work, perhaps, appeared in France in the early part of the last century. "Mathematical Recreations," by Ball, contains a very interesting chapter on magic squares. An engraving of Albert Duner's, executed about 1500, shows a remarkable square of the fourth order. This square has four cells or checkerboard squares on a side. Any column or diagonal adds up to 34. There are more than 500,000 different magic squares of the fifth order.

The Mathematical Club was originally conducted as the Mathematical Conference. However, little enthusiasm was shown, and last winter the present Club was formed. Meetings are usually held every other Tuesday evening in Phillips Brooks House. At these meetings professors and students alternate in reading papers. This gives men who are trying for graduation with distinction an opportunity to read their papers, as well as specialize in their subjects. After the discussion, which follows all papers, refreshments are served. All men taking advanced courses in mathematics or physics are eligible for membership in the club. At the next meeting on December 19 Dr. J. L. Coolidge '95 will speak on 'Staude's String Construction of An Ellipsoid."