Awards

National Academies (1906)

American Association for the Advancement of Science

About Robert Aley

Robert Judson Aley was born May 11, 1863 in Coal City, Indiana, the son of Jesse J. and Paulina (Moyer) Aley. Professor Aley was a mathematician and went on to become president of the University of Maine from January 1911 to August 1921 and then president of Butler College (University) from 1921 to 1931. Aley began his teaching career at the age of 14. After three years of teaching in rural schools, he graduated from Valparaiso University (B.S., 1882). He worked as a principal in Spencer, Indiana after leaving Valparaiso while also studying at Indiana University. He earned a B.A. in 1888 and M.A. in 1890 from Indiana University. From 1891 until 1909, he served as head of the mathematics department at IU. He earned his PhD in mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1897. Aley served as editor of mathematics for Inland Educator and Educator-Journal, he was editor-in-chief and president of Educator-Journal from 1903-1912. He was trustee of the National Education Association from 1911-1917 and served as president from 1916-1917 and was secretary of the National Council on Education from 1911-1913 and president from 1913-1916. Among his publications were The Geometry of the Triangle, 1897; Graphs, 1900; Revision of Cook and Cropsy Arithmetics (with O. L. Kelso), 1904; The Essentials of Algebra (with David Andrew Rothrock), 1904; Supplementary Problems in Algebra (with same); and Story of Indiana (with Max Aley), 1912. Aley received honorary degrees from Franklin College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Butler College. Aley died of pneumonia in 1935 at the age of 72.