Victor J Katz was born in Philadelphia. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Brandeis University in 1968. He has long been interested in the history of mathematics and, in particular, its use in teaching. His well-regarded textbook, A History of Mathematics : An Introduction, is now in its second edition. Its first edition won the Watson Davis
prize of the History of Science Society in 1995, a prize awarded annually to the best book on the history of science aimed at undergraduates. He has published numerous articles on the history of mathematics and its use in teaching. He has also directed two NSF-sponsored projects which helped college teachers learn the history of mathematics and how to use it in teaching, and involved high school teachers in writing materials using history in the teaching of various topics in the high school curriculum.