Student Manual for Essential Mathematics

Rudolf Alois Zimmer was born in 1935 in Germany to pacifist parents as the Nazis rose to power. He survived World War II and the difficult postwar years before leaving a career in Swiss banking in 1957 to immigrate to Canada with his brother and best friend, arriving with nothing but a suitcase.

In Canada, Zimmer worked while pursuing his education, eventually earning a B.A. (Honours) and an M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Western Ontario in 1965. He taught mathematics at King’s College in London, Ontario, and St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, before joining the faculty at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, in 1968. In 1972, he established the Mathematics Learning Centre, the first facility of its kind in Canada.

From 1992 to 2000, Zimmer was seconded semi-annually by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to develop culturally appropriate mathematics learning materials and train teachers in Jamaica and Guyana. He retired from teaching in 1999.