John L. Greenberg (1945–2004)

John L. Greenberg (1945–2004) was a scholar of the history of science and mathematics, best known for his work on the development of French mathematical thought in the 18th century. Apart from a three-year stint at the Caltech archives, Greenberg never held a conventional academic post, but published numerous influential papers and one book, The Problem of the Earth's Shape from Newton to Clairaut: The Rise of Mathematical Science in Eighteenth-Century Paris and the Fall of 'Normal' Science (1995). Greenberg suffered from a severe form of multiple sclerosis, which left him quadriplegic for the last ten years of his life. He received his undergraduate education at Shimer College, a small college with a Great Books curriculum that would profoundly influence his career. He followed this with a master's degree from Johns Hopkins and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. (from Shimer College Wiki)