A quick overview of Cliff’s life includes…

• as a young child, their family was constrained on finances, at one point almost having their home foreclosed (ironically by a family member!) HERE is a history of Cliff’s early years (a summary of life prior to marriage)
• going to the University of Illinois at Champaign after spending the beginning of his college time at a junior college briefly and then at the University of Illinois @ Navy Pier
• finishing a PhD in mathematics from the University of Illinois
• taking a faculty position in 1959 at Bowling Green State University for his first post doctorate job – though he called his role “going to school” – and stayed there for a career!
• Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1995 and died from complications of it in 2002

Among some lesser-known facts, he…

• was purported to be a great barometer of jokes – his laugh was infectious and sometimes he’d get so tickled that minutes later he would start laughing again
• loved participating in sports – including softball, volleyball and basketball – while having a particular interest in handball/racquetball/squash/ping pong/tennis
• was a craftsman in many ways, including carving wooden figurines for loved ones, doing home repairs and working on new construction with Habitat for Humanity and other charitable organizations (people loved to have him come visit because he’d always be doing little fix-it jobs, after asking of course! )
• was a gymnast at the University of Illinois – Navy Pier (though he’d be the first to tell you it was a small team and he was one of the last men…) His specialty was the rings

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Details about Cliff’s union with wife Lyn (dearie, as he called her) are HERE

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HERE is video of mathematics and milling efforts of Professor Clifford Long with colleagues Tom Hern and Vic Norton (at the 10 minute mark is a video done by Tom and Cliff)

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Cliff enjoyed singing with three BGSU mathematics colleagues (Charles Holland, Herb Hollister and Dean Neumann) as a group called The Logarythms – HERE is a video from a 1990s MAA Ohio Section meeting and HERE is a picture and article from a BGSU publication (thanks to Tom Hern!)

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Andy Long has collected a wide variety of Cliff Long-related items relating to math. He shared this article – Bug, Bands and Monkey Saddles – saying that it is somewhat autobiographical. Andy has much more on his website about our dad  – click HERE to see more!

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The August 10, 2002 celebration of life / memorial service video for Cliff Long is HERE

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HERE is one of “Steve’s Snippets” about his dad, Cliff Long

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Video of Long Bald Men (Clifford Allan, Steve, Andy, Thad) singing a few barbershop quartet songs plus other antics

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HERE is Cliff Long’s obituary (though there are S-T inaccuracies  – he died on the 6th, for instance)

• and this one with a lengthier math focus thanks to Tom Hern) is also on this BGSU webpage
• HERE is a slightly lengthier biography with some wonderful background details

HERE is Cliff Long’s FindAGrave site

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HERE is an article by a former student, Gary Sherman. Not only is it a nice commentary about Dr. Cliff Long, it’s a wonderful example of how people like Gary follow “Long Memories-like” Binder of a Lifetime approaches to share “About Me” experiences with others. This quote about Dr. Cliff Long’s classroom is precious:

To my surprise the course wasn’t about math-calisthenics, it was an intellectual scrimmage; open, free-wheeling, questions, conjectures, confusion, examples, counterexamples, and every now and then a theorem and its proof.

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An advent devotional that mentions Cliff, written by former BG First Presbyterian Associate Pastor Norma Jones, is HERE

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