Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1913-02-21
WIZARD OF FIGURES
FREED FROM PRISON


Michael Angelo McGinnis, whose bewild- |
ering achievements in the field Of math-
ematdcs have attracted widespread at
tention among educators in the United
States and Europe has been paroled from
the Missouri penitentiary by Gov. Had
ley McGinnis was serving ten years
sentence for forgery. Drink led him to
prison Among the names Of those who
petdtioned Gov. Hadley for the analysts
release were prominent educators.
McGinnis declared he had found the
exact ratio of the diameter of a circle TO
It's circumference, the hong sought for
ulula for .'squaring a circle" Since the I
time of Euclid the ratio was been sup
posed to be 3.1416 plus. McGinnis asserts
that he knows what the plus is he
says he has discovered the exact root
of all numbers and that imperfect
squares Will be no more.
I4or. J. M. GREENWOOD, superintendent
Of public SCHOOLS IN Kansas Clty,
believes there is not man IN Europe
or America To-Day VINO is ncGAnnis >
euuai in sowing numerical equations.
Il formed Nj. AlcGlnn4s acquaintance
some years aSO tnrOusn LIS Worn as an
a4geOl.lsl, said FroI. Greenwood.
ne came 10 Iny o1Ilce ana i save nm
alge bIsalc pro Dlenls 70 solve above the
fourth degree. Inc problems We're
.i4ll.e. 4csti. l4lal Is, the c0vlllei-hts u
.ne unAnown quantluy o. quan.41lss
were unknown. so 1ar, no analyst, ana
Dy THIS L mean a matnenialclan, mas
ueen able 10 solve nteral equation
above the fourth degree In 1919 Wllilan
u. horner OF Bath, England, discovered
and pupnsuea WuaI IL nno~n as rOl
ner's Method Of Solving Numeric
=. iua3ons OF amy Degree. McGinn
claims TO have solved hteraI equauo
above the fourth degree, even up TO
1entn degree The diIIerence betwe
d numerical solution OF an equation
a literal solution is that the numeric
is good only for that special case, VIII
d nceraI solutlon is goOo for all equ
tons of the degree. The literal equ
uon is universally true. the numerI
Tor one particular ease only.
In my experience l have never knG
a man VINO can solve numerical eq
lions OF high degree with the facii
tnat MI AlcGlnnls can solve them.
equations are formed ana the reiatl
che coefficients sustain TO the roots
the values OF the unknown quantit
The kev. H. - CIeisert OF Jeffer
City, a mathematician OF nigh rep
Is OF the opinion Jhat McGlnnis
solved t'ermats nth IheOrem.
McGinnis claims to nave solved
''trlsecuon OF any plane angle, pI
lem considered impossible OF solut
he asserts that he made all the
mates ana ngures ia the consuruc
o1 the Eads bridge in St.Louis in
tnan three weeks-an astounding fea
McGinnis is the author of "Alge
the Universal solution OF NuIners
and Literal Equations, which was
ished simultaneously in Kansas City
London few years ago. 1t attra
much attention and is in demand
ext book. McGinnis does not wor
atioas according to the usual meg
by mathematicians. but
;oes at the subject from another n
i attack altogether by discove
lew laws not hitherto suspected
inter- into tine structure OF equations
hat coefficients bear a constant
alton to AL the roots of the eq,H
q deduces principles that were
nowa.
IcGinnis had made presisteEt ap
o Gov. Hadley and Gov Folk fo
arole, based ON his math cma teal
~. but he was regularly refused o.
round that he must demonstrate
9 wss eatitled to a parole en-
round Once he wrste TO the II
lturs submitted plan whereby $1se
ear might be saved by adopting
eoks he had writen while in prisoi
NeGdnnis says, awake or slsepis
ves fR world OF figures They cen
,s1tly march IN squadrons and Rt{tons.
moving army, across the screen X hfs
lind eieA..-, ~
u can thing x nothing else,'' be said
.ceptfy. Awake or sleeping fiSu,ses, Oh
m In my head Aal the age Of Il n,
I'D leerued al there was % know IN q
oblic school about arirsnnetc, slgcsIng
nd geometry. To-day there Is no taxi =
ook on the subject towhich j p4Ehs
I'm for learning; ttSt WI
NcGS nniB wss born on a farm kssaI e.
pieton, Wis, fifty years a8u. He G
said 10 be direct descendant Of o.
,hn Napier. the fnventor OF lngarfthrs. )
e hax bad a varied ex1seriencef as sn
iucatoe and newspaper publisher in dfif-
rent parts of the country, but whsskey
ways has ben his undoins. He has ar,
ife and son living at Neosho, Mo. -,
IN. x.u ,.nsr .,ora onsnso nv w pls
Ioc