Oswald Veblen
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Oswald Veblen (24 June 1880 - 10 August, 1960) was an American mathematician who made important contributions to differential geometry and early topology, with application in atomic physics and the theory of relativity. He proved the Jordan curve theorem in 1905.
Veblen was born in Decorah, Iowa, to Andrew Anderson, brother of the famed-economist-to-be Thorstein Veblen, and Kirsti (Hougen) Veblen. Veblen earned his B.A. at the University of Iowa (1894-1898). After a year spent as a laboratory assistant, Veblen spent a year at Harvard University before going to the University of Chicago to undertake research. In 1903 he completed his Ph.D. under Eliakim Hastings Moore at the University of Chicago, with the thesis A System of Axioms for Geometry, and joined the faculty of Princeton University in 1905.
Veblen's first work on topology appeared just before he arrived in Princeton; in his term there he established Princeton as a leading center for topology research. His interest in the foundations of geometry led to his work on the axiom systems of projective geometry. Together with John Wesley Young he published Projective Geometry (1910-18). His Analysis Situs (1922) provided the first systematic coverage of the basic ideas of topology. All told, Veblen taught mathematics at Princeton from 1905 to 1932, though in 1928 he had a one-year stint at Oxford University, trading places with G. H. Hardy. In 1932, as one of the organizers of the Institute for Advanced Study, he moved there from Princeton. His Ph.D. students include J. W. Alexander, Alonzo Church, and J. H. C. Whitehead.
Veblen was an active member of the American Mathematical Society, serving the Society as Vice-President in 1915 and President in 1923-24. He was the Colloquium Lecturer for the Society in 1916 when he gave a series of lectures on topology. During his career, he made important contributions in topology and in projective and differential geometries, including results important in modern physics. He was involved in overseeing the World War II work that produced the pioneering ENIAC electronic digital computer.
He gave a very curious definition of religion: "Religion is a fabrication of vendible imponderables in the nth dimension." [1]
Veblen died in Brooklin, Maine in 1960 at age 80. After his death the American Mathematical Society created an award in his name, called the Oswald Veblen Prize. It is awarded every five years, and is the most prestigious award in recognition of outstanding research in geometry.
{{academia
|teachers=Eliakim Hastings Moore
|students=J. W. Alexander
Alonzo Church
J. H. C. Whitehead
}}
de:Oswald Veblen ja:オズワルド・ヴェブレン lb:Oswald Veblen pl:Oswald Veblen