Harold Scott MacDonald "Donald" Coxeter, Ph.D. was a British born Canadian Geometer, regarded as one of the greatest geometers of the 20th century. At 10 years old, he was already an accomplished pianist. He felt that mathematics and music were related and published an article outlining his ideas in 1962 titled "On Mathematics and Music", published in the Canadian Music Journal.

Dr. Coxeter had a long and succesful career at the University of Toronto (60 years!), where he published twelve books and over 200 articles.

He earned his BA in 1928 and his doctorate in 1931 from Trinity College, Cambridge. He went to Princeton University for one year in 1932 as a Rockefeller Fellow, returned to Trinity for one year, then back to Princeton in 1934.

Dr. Coxeter moved to the University of Toronto in 1936 and became a Professor in 1948. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1948 and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1950.

He and artist Maurits Cornelis Escher became friends, and Dr. Coxeter's work on geometric figures helped inspire some of Escher's works. Dr. Coxeter analyzed Escher's work, Circle Limits III and determined that Escher got the geometry right, "absolutely to the millimeter" Globe and Mail, May 9, 1996 He received a Sylvester Medal from the Royal Society and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Coxeter officially retired from the Mathematics Department in 1980. As Professor Emeritus, he continued his mathematical work until his death. He is survived by two children, Susan (Coxeter) Thomas and Edgar Coxeter and several grandchildren. In 2006 a biography, "The King of Infinite Space, Donald Coxeter and the Magical Omnipotence of Geometry" was published by Anansi.

Sources

• Globe and Mail, May 9, 1996
• University of Toronto Archives