Buffalo bones: State's 1st mathematician

By Carl V. Hallberg

Wyoming State Archives

The first mathematician at the University of Wyoming was Albert Monroe Sawin. Very little is known about his early life. He was born on April 3, 1858 in Union, Wis. to pioneer residents of the area. He married Josephine Alice Hull in Evansville in June 23, 1885. They had three children.

One thing known for certain was that Sawin was gifted with a keen mind. He attended the University of Wisconsin and graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Afterwards, he served as president of the Wisconsin Mathematical Society, studied law and was a...