Selected Papers

Joseph Leonard Walsh (1895-1973) was an American mathematician. For most of his professional career he studied and worked at Harvard University. He received a B.S. in 1916 and a PhD in 1920. The Advisor of his PhD was Maxime Bôcher. He started to work as lecturer in Harvard afterwards and became a full professor in 1935. With two different scholarships he was able to study in Paris under Paul Montel (1920-21) and in Munich under Constantin Carathéodory (1925-26). From 1937 to 1942 he served as chairman of his department at Harvard. During World War II he served as an officer in the US navy and was promoted to captain right after end of the war. After his retirement from Harvard in 1966 he accepted a position at the University of Maryland where he continued to work up to a few months before his death. Joseph L. Walsh became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1936 and served 1949-51 as president of the American Mathematical Society. Altogether he published 279 articles (research and others), seven books and advised 31 PhD students. The Walsh function and the Walsh–Hadamard code are named after him. The Grace-Walsh-Szegő Coincidence Theorem is important in the study of the location of the zeros of multivariate polynomials.

• 1 Zeros and Critical Points of Polynomials and Rational Functions.- [18*] On the location of the roots of the Jacobian of two binary forms and of the derivative of a rational function.- [21-a*] On the location of the roots of the derivative of a polynomial.- [21-b*] On the location of the roots of the Jacobian of two binary forms and of the derivative of a rational function.- [20-c*] On the location of the roots of the derivative of a polynomial.- [33-1*] Note on the location of the roots of the derivative of a polynomial.- [22-g*] On the location of the roots of certain types of polynomials.- [64-e*] A Theorem of Grace on the zeros of polynomials, revisited.- [64-j*] The location of the zeros of the derivative of a rational function, revisited.- [24-h*] An inequality for the roots of an algebraic equation.- Commentary.- 2 Walsh Functions.- [23-b*] A closed set of normal orthogonal functions.- Commentary.- 3 Qualitative Approximation.- [26-b*] Über die Entwicklung einer analytischen Funktion nach Polynomen.- [26-c*] Über die Entwicklung einer Funktion einer komiexen Veränderlichen nach Polynomen.- [28-a*] On the expansion of analytic functions in series of polynomials and in series of polynomials and in series of other analytic functions.- [28-d*] Über die Entwicklung einer harmonischen Funktion nach harmonischen Polynomen.- [29-b*] The approximation of harmonic functions by harmonic polynomials and by harmonic rational functions.- Commentary.- 4 Conformai Mapping.- [37-d*] On the shape of level curves of Green’s function.- [38-a*] Note on the curvature of orthogonal trajectories of level curves of Green’s functions.- [39-d*] On the circles of curvature of the images of circles under a conformal map.- [40-a*] Note on the curvature of the orthogonal trajectories of level curves of Green’s functions.- [70-a*] On the shape of the level loci of harmonic measure.- [55-a*] (With D. Gaier) Zur Methode der variablen Gebiete bei der Randverserrung.- [56-b*] (With L. Rosenfeld) On the boundary behavior of a conformal map.- [56-d*] On the conformal mapping of multiply connected regions.- Commentary Dieter Gaier.- 5 Polynomial Approximation.- [32-c*] On polynomial interpolation to analytic functions with singularities.- [37-g*] (With W.E. Sewell) Note on the relation between continuity and degree of polynomial approximation in the complex domain.- [38-d*] (With W.E. Sewell) Note on degree of trigonometric and polynomial approximation to an analytic function.- [53-c*] (With T.S. Motzkin) On the derivative of a polynomial and Chebyshev approximation.- [73-a*] (With T.S. Motzkin) Equilibrium of inverse-distance forces in three-dimensions.- [34-c*] Note on the orthogonality of Tchebycheff polynomials on confocal ellipses.- [42-a*] Note on the coefficients of overconvergent power series.- [51-c*] Note on approximation by bounded analytic functions.- [68-e*] Approximation by bounded analytic functions: Uniform convergence as implied by mean convergence.- [73-c*] History of the Riemann mapping theorem.- Commentary.- 6 Rational Approximation 465.- [31-c*] On the overconvergence of certain sequences of rational functions of best approximation.- [34-b*] On approximation to an analytic function by rational functions of best approximation.- [40-b*] On the degree of convergence of sequences of rational functions.- [46-c*] Overconvergence, degree of convergence, and zeros of sequences of analytic functions.- [64-a*] Padé approximants as limits of rational functions of best approximation.- [65-i*] The convergence of sequences of rational functions of best approximation with some free poles.- [67-c*] An extension of the generalized Bernstein lemma.- [68-a*] Degree of approximation by rational functions and polynomials.- [71-b*] (With Dov Aharonov) Some examples in degree of approximation by rational functions.- Commentary.- 7 Spline Functions.- [65-b*] (With J.H. Ahlberg and E.N. Nilson) Fundamental properties of generalized splines.- [67-d*] (With J.H.Ahlberg and E.N. Nilson) Complex cubic splines.- [68-f*] (With J.H. Ahlberg and E.N. Nilson) Cubic splines on the real line.- Commentary by Walter Schempp.

From the reviews: MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS "Because of Walsh's chairmanship of the Mathematics Department at Harvard and of the American Mathematical Society, and the very substantial impact of his doctoral students, this material will be a valuable resource for those interested in the development of American mathematics...an essential reference. No doubt all those interested in constructive or geometric function theory, complex approximation,...will also find a place for it on their shelves."