Died: 27 December 1973 in La Jolla, California, USA

Raymond Brink studied at Kansas State University, where he received a B.S. degree in 1908 and a B.S.E.E. degree in 1909. He did not continue is studies immediately by attending graduate school but undertook high school teaching for a short time. He then entered Harvard University where he was awarded his doctorate in 1916 for his thesis Some Integral Tests for the Convergence and Divergence of Infinite Series.

Following the award of his doctorate Brink studied at the CoIIège de France and the Sorbonne in Paris spending the academic year 1916-17 financed by the prestigious Sheldon Travelling Fellowship. Brink fell in love with France and he had a passion for the country for the rest of his life. On returning to the United States, he was appointed, in 1917, to the Department of Mathematics in the College of Science, Literature, and the Arts at the University of Minnesota. In the following year he married Carol Ryrie on 12 July; they had two children, David Ryrie Brink and Nora Caroline Brink.

Brink spent the academic year 1919-20 at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where he was appointed as a lecturer in Mathematics. This led to him joining the Edinburgh Mathematical Society in December 1919. Except for two further periods of study leave spent in Paris (1924-25 and 1932-33) Brink continued to teach at the University of Minnesota. A student who studied under him in 1947 wrote:-

There were older people in the Science, Literature, and the Arts Mathematics Department who had been active at one time, but had turned their attention largely to administration, textbook writing, and teaching. These included Professor Raymond W Brink who was Chairman of the department, and had been President of the Mathematical Association of America.

For further details see Brink's American Maths Monthly obituary at THIS LINK.

1. J M H Olmsted, R W Brink - An Obituary, Amer. Math. Monthly 81 (8) (1974), 873-875.