A Beautiful Mind

by

Sylvia Nasar

William Ted Martin Character Analysis

The chairman of the MIT mathematics department, Martin offers John Nash an instructorship at the university in the 1950s. Martin is a “loquacious” mathematician known for luring “young hotshots” to the department. At the height of the McCarthy era during the Cold War (a period in which the aggressively anti-communist U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy led a committee to weed suspected Communists and Soviet spies out of the U.S.), Martin’s “secret past” as an underground member of the Communist Party in the late 1930s and early 1940s is exposed.
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William Ted Martin Character Timeline in A Beautiful Mind

The timeline below shows where the character William Ted Martin appears in A Beautiful Mind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 16 – MIT
Genius, Morality, and Relationships Theme Icon
...beginning to attract top-tier talent, thanks to the work of the mathematics chairman, William Ted Martin. Martin is known for “lur[ing] young hotshot” researchers like Nash to MIT to improve the... (full context)
Chapter 20 – Geometry
Genius, Morality, and Relationships Theme Icon
In the early part of 1953, Martin offers Nash a permanent faculty position at MIT, which comes as a surprise to faculty... (full context)
Chapter 35 – In the Eye of the Storm
Love, Desire, and the Impact of Hidden Lives Theme Icon
...therapy. In January, Nash is approved for tenure but relieved of his teaching duties, since Martin is aware that Nash seems to be suffering a “nervous breakdown.” Alicia begins to wonder... (full context)