Editorial

Members of the British Society for the History of Mathematics will know that 2021 is our fiftieth anniversary. To mark the occasion, this issue of the British Journal for History of Mathematics includes an article by Robin Wilson and Raymond Flood, both of whom are former BSHM presidents, on the history of the Society over our first fifty years. Reading the article, one is struck again by just how much has been achieved. A hallmark of the society has been the way it has adapted and grown, with collaborations, joint events, and new initiatives being a regular feature. This journal (formerly the Newsletter) is a case in point: it is celebrating its thirty-fifth year in 2021. The first issue was 4 typed pages, and appeared in February 1986. It made mention of an upcoming BSHM meeting to be held at the Royal Institution – it feels very long ago that a full-day meeting in Central London, with lunch included, could be arranged for £7 per person! The October 1986 newsletter featured a blistering rebuke from the then President Ivor Grattan-Guinness. ‘The Committee of the Society met during the Society’s meeting in Oxford in September. Of greatest concern was the very low attendance: less than twenty came, as with the joint meeting at the Royal Institution the previous June – and many were the same people. If this situation does not quickly improve, then the Society will cease to exist […]. It is up to you.’ Happily, we survived, and nowadays our meetings regularly attract over 100 participants.

What do our next 50 years hold? The last year has shown us that how unpredictable life can be, but we have always moved with the times. The Society had a website from early on, and a lot of work went into redeveloping it in 2015 and 2016, along with an updated logo, introduction of online registration for meetings, and so on. This work continues; members can now join and update membership online, and of course many of us this past year will have been attending meetings online too. I want to congratulate meeting organizers and speakers for continuing to run events during the pandemic. Many readers will know from experience how challenging it is to give lectures online, whether pre-recorded or live, and the added stress for the organizers is considerable. In spite of the challenges, we have had many successful online events, and we think there is scope for incorporating some virtual meetings along with the in-person events we are all so very eager to resume. Online events allow people to attend from wherever they are in the world, and also give us the opportunity to hear from renowned international experts for whom a visit to the UK to give a talk would be prohibitively expensive – such as Clemency Montelle, the invited speaker for the 2021 Research in Progress meeting, who is based in New Zealand.

High on our priority list is also the importance of inclusivity and diversity – we want everyone to be able to access our meetings, and to feel welcome at them. As in mathematics and history of mathematics more broadly, there are still under-represented groups, and we are mindful of the need to address that where we can. Of course, we cannot change the whole of society, but we can do our bit. (By some measures we aren’t doing too badly: the London Mathematical Society took 96 years to elect its first woman President, whereas we are already on our third!) We are taking steps to make our meetings accessible to all, for example by ensuring that online talks this year have been subtitled. In 2021, an Accessibility and Diversity working group was formed, with the aim of ensuring that the BSHM is as open and welcoming as possible to people from all backgrounds and of all identities.

Finally, since we all are just passing through, we must ensure the continuing health of the history of mathematics as a serious academic discipline, by encouraging and supporting early career researchers. We do this already by having reduced student membership for the under-25s, subsidized conference fees for students, essay prizes for school children and undergraduates, and an annual Research in Progress day for (mainly) PhD students. The success of the Society depends on the active and enthusiastic involvement of its members, but also on the dedication of Council members, Journal editors and contributors, and those who serve the society by organizing or speaking at events. I wish to record my deep gratitude to everyone whose efforts continue to make the society what it is. It’s an honour to begin my term as President in our fiftieth anniversary year. We hope that our Christmas meeting can be an in-person event, and that we can raise a glass together then to celebrate our half-century, and look forward to the next fifty years of the BSHM.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.