James Pierpont (musician)

James Lord Pierpont (April 25, 1822 - August 5, 1893) was a New England born songwriter, arranger, organist, and composer, best known for writing and composing "Jingle Bells" in 1857, originally entitled "The One Horse Open Sleigh". He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and died in Winter Haven, Florida. His composition "Jingle Bells" has become synonymous with the Christmas holiday and is one of the most performed and most recognizable songs in the world.

Life and career

James Lord Pierpont was born on April 25, 1822 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Reverend John Pierpont (1785–1866), was a pastor of the Hollis Street Unitarian Church in Boston, an abolitionist and a poet. Robert Fulghum confused James with his father in the book It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It (1989); erroneously attributing the authorship of "Jingle Bells" to Rev. John Pierpont. James' mother was Mary Sheldon Lord, the daughter of Lynde Lord, Jr. (1762–1813), and Mary Lyman. James was the uncle of the financier and banker John Pierpont Morgan. John and Mary Pierpont had six children.

James Pierpont (mathematician)

James P. Pierpont (June 16, 1866 – December 9, 1938) was a Connecticut-born American mathematician. His father Cornelius Pierpont was a wealthy New Haven businessman. He did undergraduate studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, initially in mechanical engineering, but turned to mathematics. He went to Europe after graduating in 1886. He studied in Berlin, and later in Vienna. He prepared his PhD at the University of Vienna under Leopold Gegenbauer and Gustav Ritter von Escherich. His thesis, defended in 1894, is entitled Zur Geschichte der Gleichung fünften Grades bis zum Jahre 1858. After his defense, he returned to New Haven and was appointed as a lecturer at Yale University, where he spent most of his career. In 1898, he became professor. Initially, his research dealt with Galois theory of equations. After 1900, he worked in real and complex analysis.

In his textbooks of real analysis, he introduced a definition of the integral analogous to Lebesgue integration. His definition was later criticized by Maurice Fréchet. Finally, in the 1920s, his interest turned to non-Euclidean geometry.

James Pierpont

James Pierpont may refer to:

James Pierpont (minister)

James Pierpont (Roxbury, Massachusetts, January 4, 1659 – November 22, 1714, New Haven, Connecticut) was a Congregationalist minister who is credited with the founding of Yale University in the United States. In 1701, Pierpont, a graduate of The Roxbury Latin School and Harvard University, secured the charter for The Collegiate School of Connecticut, which soon thereafter took the surname of its benefactor Elihu Yale.

James Pierpont married in 1698 as his third wife Mary Hooker, daughter of Rev. Samuel Hooker and granddaughter of Rev. Thomas Hooker, chief founder of the Colony of Connecticut. Their daughter, Sarah Pierpont, married noted colonial minister Jonathan Edwards. James Pierpont's descendants also include U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr and financier John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan.

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