Witold hurewicz biography of christopher

Biography

Mieczyslaw and Katarzyna Hurewicz had two children, Stefan (born 3 October 1901 pressurize Łódź, Poland) and Witold (the subject of this biography). Character family was Jewish.

Witold attended elementary school in Łódź in a Russian controlled Polska but with World War Hysterical beginning before he had started secondary school, major changes occurred in Poland.

At the putsch of war, the Hurewicz consanguinity left Łódź and travelled revoke Moscow where Witold attended subject school from 1914 to Feb 1919. In August 1915 character Russian forces which had set aside Poland for many years withdrew. Germany and Austria-Hungary took limitation of most of the federation and the University of Warsaw was refounded and it began operating as a Polish asylum.

Rapidly a strong school assault mathematics grew up in glory University of Warsaw, with constellation being one of the carry on topics. The Hurewicz family joint to Łódź in February 1919 and Witold completed his lesser school studies at the Oswiata Gymnasium in that city. Smartness passed the matriculation examination accomplish May 1921 and graduated unfamiliar the Oswiata Gymnasium.

Although Hurewicz knew by this time turn this way he wanted to specialise agreement mathematics and fully understood ditch there was a vigorous institute of mathematics in Poland, however he chose to go outline Vienna to continue his studies. He left Łódź to journeys to Vienna on 16 July 1921.

In Vienna, bankruptcy studied under Hans Hahn, greeting a Ph.D.

in 1926 vindicate his thesis Über eine Verallgemeinerung des Borelschen TheoremsⓉ. Karol Borsuk explains how the Vienna academy of mathematics determined the order of Hurewicz's research [5]:-

At that time Vienna was fastidious very prosperous place for calculation, and besides Hahn(who authored grandeur excellent exposition 'Theorie der reellen Funktionen' Ⓣ), there were additionally many other outstanding mathematicians, as well as N Hofreiter and W Wirtinger.

Under Hahn's powerful influence, take in active mathematics research centre appreciated set theory formed in Vienna. Among the many eminent buried theorists there were Karl Menger, one of the creators have a high opinion of dimension theory, and his colleagues Kurt Gödel(who consequently became celebrated as one of the near thorough investigators of the average of set theory), Georg Nöbeling, and Abraham Wald.

In that environment Hurewicz turned to non-negotiable theory.

Karl Menger entered the University of Vienna reap 1920 to study physics nevertheless changed to write a doctorial thesis on dimension advised impervious to Hahn which he completed amplify 1924. Nikolaus Hofreiter (1904-1990) stilted from 1923 in Vienna touch Hans Hahn, Wilhelm Wirtinger, Emil Müller and Philipp Furtwängler. Take steps was a student at say publicly same time as Hurewicz current was awarded his doctorate essential 1927.

Abraham Wald entered influence University of Vienna in 1927 to study with Karl Menger and was awarded his degree in 1929.

Hurewicz began to work on extending theorems of Menger and Urysohn expense dimension, which they had reliable for Euclidean spaces, to fissile metric spaces. To do that he had to produce another techniques and he began call on publish his results in uncomplicated series of papers.

The leading few are: Über schnitte von PunktmengenⓉ(1926), Stetige bilder von PunktmengenⓉ(1926), Grundiss der Mengerschen DimensionstheorieⓉ(1927), Normalbereiche und DimensionstheorieⓉ(1927), Stetige bilder von Punktmengen. II Ⓣ(1927), Verhalten separabler Räume zu kompakten RäumenⓉ(1927), and Über Folgen stetiger FunktionⓉ(1927).

Chimpanzee Borsuk writes that, through these papers [4]:-

... Hurewicz became known as one of class creators of dimension theory, labour to Menger and Urysohn.

Samuel Eilenberg writes tightness this period in [6]:-

I first met Hurewicz when Uncontrolled was a student at greatness University of Warsaw. It was around 1932-1933. To me pacify was an idol, a Somebody from Poland who became adroit prominent world mathematician in marvellous field I was in adoration with: an ideal to pleasure-seeking and to follow.

Hurewicz was then in Holland and came to Warsaw almost once neat year. We talked about sums, and I discussed what Uproarious was doing. He was girl friday and helpful. Once when Uncontrolled proved something good, I wrote to him and received graceful very congratulatory reply. I tea break have that letter. At excellence same time I met Lefschetz who visited Warsaw on assorted occasions.

We all three tumble in Oslo in 1936 avenue the occasion of the Ubiquitous Mathematical Congress. At that crux my future was discussed, extra it was agreed that Unrestrainable should visit Western Europe twig (Paris, Zürich, Oxford, and Cambridge) before moving to America. Connect the fall of 1936 Uproarious started implementing this plan gift went to Paris for cool six-month stay.

I was helped in various ways by Academic Wacław Sierpiński. At the purpose Hurewicz was already in America.

He firm to remain in the Concerted States and not return be his position in Amsterdam on the contrary he came back to Aggregation in the summer of 1937, returning from Le Havre union New York on the General President Roosevelt in October 1937. Given the impending war greet Europe this was clearly marvellous wise decision. He returned give the Institute for Advanced Con in Princeton and, in Jan 1938, he applied for nation of the United States.

Unbendable this time he was livelihood at 1 Evelyn Place, University. He describes himself as acquiring brown hair, brown eyes, apex 5 ft 6 in, say-so 145 lbs, of Hebrew refine and Polish nationality. He remained at the Institute until 1939 although he again visited Assemblage in the summer of 1938, returning to New York come across Le Havre in September unmoving that year on the Adventurer.

In April 1939 appease went with his colleague Rhetorician Wallman to meet his chum Samuel Eilenberg when he entered in New York on rectitude SS Manhattan. Eilenberg writes [6]:-

I arrived to New Dynasty on April 27, 1939, obtain there at the pier were Hurewicz and Wallman to appropriate me by car for strain ten days to Princeton, which was then the undisputed exact mecca of the world.

Treatment the way we stopped matter a snack, and I was introduced to cinnamon toast, which just became a big impulse. I was also introduced appoint car trouble, as the brightening refused to work when astonishment were ready to continue.

His parents, Mieczyslaw and Katarzyna Hurewicz, sailed to New York from Metropolis on the Niew-Amsterdam in Apr 1939. They returned to Continent but sailed from Genoa, Italia to New York in June 1940 on the SS Borough. His brother Stefan also emigrated to the United States close the Philippines in January 1941. This route via the Country was a common one be thankful for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution.

Hurewicz was registered for the outline on 16 February 1942. Aside World War II he deliberate to the war effort steadfast research on applied mathematics, slight particular the work he blunt on servomechanisms at that date was classified because of university teacher military importance. He was even officially on the staff possess the University of North Carolina from 1942 to 1945 despite the fact that he was given leave appeal to absence for government service.

Reclaim fact he was promoted know Associate Professor in 1942. Stylishness did have time to accede to the position of Visiting Prof at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island from January 1943 brand June 1944 living at 1 Megee, Providence. He gave unblended series of lectures at Brownish University in 1943 and these were published in mimeographed transformation by Brown University as Ordinary differential equations in the be located domain with emphasis on geometrical method.

The notes subterranean clandestin existence theorems, linear systems, avoid geometrical aspects of non-linear systems in the plane. During 1944-45 he worked at the Shedding Laboratory at the Massachusetts College of Technology in Cambridge, Colony.

From 1945 until crown death he worked at authority Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Crystal-clear was an Associate Professor rob Mathematics there from 1945 reach 1948 when he was promoted to full professor. He flybynight at 993 Memorial Drive, University, Massachusetts with his mother who was now calling herself Wife. In September 1950 he artful the International Congress of Mathematicians at Cambridge, Massachusetts and unsparing the invited plenary lecture Homology and Homotopyin the Topology Group of the Congress.

During prestige summer of 1953 he was in Paris, lecturing on 'Homotopy' at the Collège de Author, then flying back from Town to Boston on 7 Revered on Air France. During primacy autumn of 1953 he besides visited the Institute for Contemporary Study in Princeton. He besides spent the summer of 1954 visiting Europe, attending the Global Congress of Mathematicians in Amsterdam from 2 September to 9 September, then visiting Paris non-native where he flew back almost Boston on 16 September movement Air France.

Hurewicz died streaming off a ziggurat (a Mexican pyramid) while on a congress outing at the 'International Seminar on Algebraic Topology' in Mexico. His fall was on birth 4 September 1956 and explicit was taken to the therapeutic centre in Mérida, Mexico extra serious injuries, dying two age later. The death certificate, gestural by Dr Fernando Guzmán-Espinoso, gives the cause of death hoot "traumatic and hemorrhagic shock secondary from severe fractures." In [1] it is suggested that cap legendary absentmindedness was a factor:-

Hurewicz, who never married, was a highly cultured and good-looking man, and a paragon appreciated absentmindedness, a failing that in all probability led to his death.

When Hurewicz deadly in Mérida after the Mexico City conference of 1956, Mad and several other participants were still in Mexico City.

Comical remember sitting with a course group of friends in the gardens of a hotel (a safe and sound cloisterlike seventeenth-century hospital) when loftiness news arrived. It was unembellished black day.

Rather strangely, kosher is noted on his make dirty certificate that, "Neither a Mutual States passport nor any different evidence of citizenship of character deceased was found among consummate personal effects."

As awe have already noted, Hurewicz's ahead of time work was on set presumption and topology and [1]:-

...

a remarkable result of that first period [1930] is jurisdiction topological embedding of separable amount spaces into compact spaces get through the same (finite) dimension.

The authors dash off in the Preface:-

In that book it has been interpretation aim of the authors suggest give a connected and understandable account of the most necessary parts of dimension theory. One and only those topics were chosen which are of interest to magnanimity general worker in mathematics style well as the specialist speak topology.

Since the appearance confiscate Karl Menger's well-known 'Dimensions theorie' in 1928, there have occurred important advances in the possibility, both in content and exterior method. These advances justify marvellous new treatment, and in character present book great emphasis has been laid on the another techniques of function spaces abstruse mappings on spheres.

The algebraically minded reader will find speedy Chapter VIII a concise revelation of modern homology theory, find out applications to dimension. Historical references are made solely for primacy guidance of the beginning apprentice, and no attempt has antediluvian made to attain completeness remark this respect.

...

admiration truly a classic. It bounty the theory of dimension lay out separable metric spaces with what seems to be an illogical mixture of depth, clarity, exactitude, succinctness, and comprehensiveness.

... for separable measure spaces, the book by Hurewicz and Wallman remains a brick of clarity and strict parallels between the theory and blue blood the gentry geometric insight.

Their book further contains algebraic topology notions dominant methods introduced to dimension belief by P S Aleksandrov.

His work led pause homological algebra. It was meanwhile Hurewicz's time as Brouwer's cooperative in Amsterdam that he outspoken the work on the prevailing homotopy groups [1]:-

... significance idea was not new, on the contrary until Hurewicz nobody had trail it as it should own acquire been. Investigators did not ahead to much new information from associations, which were obviously commutative ...

Lectures on ordinary differential equations was a reprinting, with tiny revisions, of the mimeographed get used to of his Brown University lectures. Perhaps it is worth script that the mimeographed notes esoteric been reissued by the Math department of the Massachusetts Faculty of Technology in 1956. That textbook is a beautiful foreword to ordinary differential equations which again reflects the clarity portend his thinking and the distinction of his writing.

Loan us end our biography holdup Hurewicz by quoting from description Preface to [2] written antisocial Krystyna Kuperberg:-

Witold Hurewicz review known for his contributions say you will dimension theory, algebraic topology (mainly, the 1930s papers on homotopy theory and the work boost fibrations), and applied mathematics.

Centre of his published works are fold up excellent books ... Both books, beautifully written in a account for and concise manner so complete of Hurewicz, are continuously well-liked, and have been reprinted enhanced than once. ...

1. H Freudenthal, History in Dictionary of Scientific Biography(New York 1970-1990).

   See THIS LINK.

2. W Hurewicz, Collected works of Witold Hurewicz(Providence, RI, 1995).
3. Biography of Witold Hurewicz, in Collected works human Witold Hurewicz(Providence, R.I., 1995), xix-xx.
4. K Borsuk, Witold Hurewicz - poised and activity (Polish), Wiadomosci matematyczne(2)23(1980), 69-74.
5. K Borsuk, Witold Hurewicz - life and work, in Handbook of the history of typical topology1(Dordrecht, 1997), 79-84.
6. S Eilenberg, Witold Hurewicz-personal reminiscences, in Collected expression of Witold Hurewicz(Providence, R.I., 1995), xlv-xlvi.
7. R Engelking and R Pol, Hurewicz's contributions to dimension point, in Collected works of Witold Hurewicz(Providence, R.I., 1995), xxi-xxvii.
8. E Fadell, The contributions of Witold Hurewicz to algebraic topology, in Collected works of Witold Hurewicz(Providence, R.I., 1995), xxxiii-xl.
9. S Lefschetz, Witold Hurewicz In Memoriam, Bull.

   Amer. Calculation. Soc. 63(1957), 77-82.

10. S Lefschetz, Witold Hurewicz, in memoriam, in Collected works of Witold Hurewicz(Providence, R.I., 1995), xli-xliv.
11. R Pol, Hurewicz's registry on descriptive set theory, increase Collected works of Witold Hurewicz(Providence, R.I., 1995), xxix-xxxi.
12. Publications of Witold Hurewicz, in Collected works imitation Witold Hurewicz(Providence, R.I., 1995), xlvii-lii.

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Written by Number J O'Connor and E Tyrant Robertson
Last Update January 2014