The history of the UNC Department of Mathematics coincides with the history of the University. When Carolina's first student, Hinton James, arrived in Chapel Hill on February 12, 1795, the faculty consisted of a headmaster and a professor of mathematics: "first presiding professor The Reverend David Ker" and "Charles Wilson Harris, Princeton graduate and the University's first tutor (Mathematics)". Wilson's pay consisted of $100.00 annual salary plus one third of the tuition money, free board at the commons, and use of a room in Old East.

Since about 1970, the department has built up its expertise in many of the most active and exciting areas of modern mathematics. It has acquired especially strong groups and noteworthy researchers in the areas of

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill