Henry Bedinger Mitchell

Pamphlet by H. B. Mitchell

Henry Bedinger Mitchell (1874-19xx) was a mathematician and a member of the Theosophical Society in America, (later renamed Theosophical Society) headed by Ernest Temple Hargrove. His brother John F. B. Mitchell was also a member, and John's son, sharing the name Henry Bedinger Mitchell (1916-1997), was a lawyer in the oil industry.

Henry Mitchell was born August 12, 1874 in Babylon, Long Island, New York. He became a Professor of Mathematics at Columbia University in New York City.

Writings

Mr. Mitchell wrote 25 articles that were printed in The Theosophical Quarterly under the name Henry Bedinger Mitchell, 8 more under HB Mitchell, and 9 more under HBM. He also published some pamphlets:

• Meditation. New York: Quarterly Book Department, 19xx. This was probably a reprint from The Theosophical Quarterly article of 1906, that was later reprinted as a series in Vidya in 1989. It was also published in another printing by Charles Johnston, and in a German translation.
• The Theosophical Society and Theosophy. New York: Quarterly Book Department, 19xx. Another edition is available at Hathitrust
• Our Headline Policy. An Appeal to the Press. New York: Division of Intelligence and Publicity of Columbia University, 1917. Columbia War Papers, Series 1, number 4. 7 pages. Described as "An appeal to the press to recognize in their news presentation our unity with our allies," it was one of a series of at least twelve pamphlets related to World War I.
• "On the Imaginary Roots of a Polynomial and the Real Roots of its Derivative." American Mathematical Society journal, 1918. Available at AMS.org.

He wrote a lively book, Talks On Religion: a Collective Inquiry, that is a transcription of a series of dialogues among fifteen distinguished men who are identified by profession, but not by name: The Mathematician, The Historian, The Philosopher, The Zoologist, The Author, The Clergymen, The Editor, The Biologist, The Social Philosopher, The Banker, The Pragmatist, The Anthropologist, The Oxonian, The Logician, and The Youth. Many are also addressed by a letter, so it is possible to identify some of the participants. The Mathematician, in whose home the talks took place, was Mitchell himself; The Author was almost certainly Charles Johnston; and The Banker was probably Clement Acton Griscom, Jr.. It was published in New York at Longman, Green, and Co., in 1908. It is available online at Internet Archive, at Google Books, at Hathitrust, and at Readanybook.com.