Navy Gazette
Prof. James Main, 84 years old ... d November 23 in Washington
one time professor of mathematics in the Edinburgh University
later sent to Cape Town to conduct important astronomical observations
Came to US many years ago. has been employed in the Coast and Geodetic Survey for years.
leaves two sons, one of which is Chief Engineer Herschel Main, U.S. Navy
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_United_States_Army_and_Navy_Journal/fPw-AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=herschelissue of December 1, 1894
there are a lot of hits for "herschel main" engineer washington dc
https://oceannavigator.com/a-most-impressive-sextant-2/brief listing
http://genealogytrails.com/washdc/obituaries/obitpage1.htmlfindagrave
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58944305/herschel-mainand others for "herschel main" mathematician 1880 washington dc
use the quotes
for "james main" mathematician 1880 washington dc
"Herschell Main’s father, James Main, regarded as one of the finest mathematicians in the country at the time,"
https://www.washingtonchronicles.com/2021/01/alice-roosevelt-longworth.html"Herschell Main’s father, James Main, regarded as one of the finest mathematicians in the country at the time,"
https://www.washingtonchronicles.com/2021/01/alice-roosevelt-longworth.htmllots for "james main" coast and geodetic survey
including:
https://library.oarcloud.noaa.gov/docs.lib/htdocs/rescue/cgs/002_pdf/CSC-0079.PDFhttps://archive.org/stream/jstor-1967384/1967384_djvu.txtfrom scholar.google.com:
I don't know if this refers to him or not. this is just a quote from the hit on google. the book itself is recent and not online. It could be talking about another man named James, but I saw Coast and Geodetic Survey so I am posting it.
Mind ecologies: Body, brain, and world, by M Crippen, J Schulkin - 2020 - degruyter.com
""The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey employed him for over thirty years. During this
... James maintained that without temporally- oriented cognitive tools, “we should live simply ‘
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7312/crip19024/html