Princeton mathematics professor
Gilbert Hunt of Princeton, a professor emeritus of mathematics at Princeton University, died in his sleep May 30 at home as he was recovering from surgery. He was 92.
Professor Hunt was considered one of the world’s recognized authorities in the fields of probability theory and analysis.
In addition to being a top scholar, he was a war veteran and in his youth a top-ranked amateur tennis player.
During his long career, Professor Hunt made important contributions to the field of probability theory, an area of mathematics that allows for forecasts in any complex system, from the weather to quantum mechanics. The “Hunt process,” a key mathematical model used in probability theory, is named for him.
”He was very interested in all areas of mathematics, not just his own specialty,” said Simon Kochen, also a Princeton professor of mathematics in a statement. “He was a Renaissance person, with a deep interest in literature and music as well as many other areas.”
Professor Hunt served as chairman of the Princeton Department of Mathematics from 1966 to 1968. His first Princeton appointment as a faculty member was from 1959 to 1962. He rejoined the faculty in 1965, having spent the previous three years at Cornell University. He taught at Princeton until he retired in 1986.
Born in Washington, D.C., he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for two years, but left to play tennis, a sport at which he had excelled since he was a child.
At ages 16 and 18, he was ranked No. 1 in national junior indoor tennis, and he was listed as one of the top 10 national tennis players during his college years. Sportswriters had a field day with his eccentricities — he liked to play barefoot, he would sometimes wear a floppy farmer’s hat and, if he did not think he was playing well, he would walk off the court.
He defeated Bobby Riggs, the nation’s No. 2 player, in 1938.
After a brief hiatus, he returned to college and resumed his scholarly work at George Washington University, earning his bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1938. He continued his studies at Brown University, until he was drafted into the Army during World War II. He was assigned principally to the research section of the air weather service. During that time, he achieved the rank of captain and used his mathematical skills to help develop weather forecasts to ensure the success of D-Day and the Allied invasion of the Normandy coast.
From 1946 through 1949, he served as an attaché to the computing pioneer John von Neumann at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and also completed his doctoral studies at Princeton University, earning his degree in 1948. He taught first at Cornell, then returned to Princeton.
Professor Hunt suffered from macular degeneration and starting losing his sight in the 1960s at the height of his mathematical powers. He developed methods to think about mathematics in a new way as it grew increasingly difficult to read equations, his colleagues said.
He is survived by the children of his first marriage to Mary Hunt, who died in 2003. They are Laurence Hunt and Margaret Hunt, both of Princeton. He is also survived by four children by his second marriage to Helen Hunt, from whom he was divorced. They are Diana Hunt of Hamburg, Germany; Christopher Hunt of Boston, Lisa Hunt of Berkeley, Calif., and Gregory Hunt of Griggstown.
A memorial service is being planned for a future date.
Memorial contributions may be made to Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic, 20 Roszel Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.
