Samuel Eilenberg

Infobox Scientist
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name = Samuel Eilenberg


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caption = Samuel Eilenberg (1970)
birth_date = birth date|1913|9|30
birth_place = Warsaw, Russian Empire
death_date = death date and age|1998|1|30|1913|9|30
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workplaces = Columbia University
alma_mater = Warsaw University
doctoral_advisor = Karol Borsuk
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known_for = Eilenberg-Steenrod axioms
Eilenberg swindle
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Samuel Eilenberg (September 30, 1913—January 30, 1998) was a Polish and American mathematician of Jewish descent. He was born in Warsaw, Russian Empire (now in Poland) and died in New York City, USA, where he had spent much of his career as a professor at Columbia University.

He earned his Ph.D. from Warsaw University in 1936. His thesis advisor was Karol Borsuk. His main interest was algebraic topology. He worked on the axiomatic treatment of homology theory with Norman Steenrod (whose names the Eilenberg-Steenrod axioms bear), and on homological algebra with Saunders Mac Lane. In the process, Eilenberg and Mac Lane created category theory.

Eilenberg took part in the Bourbaki group meetings, and, with Henri Cartan, wrote the 1956 book "Homological Algebra", which became a classic.

Later in life he worked mainly in pure category theory, being one of the founders of the field. The Eilenberg swindle (or "telescope") is a construction applying the telescoping cancellation idea to projective modules.

Eilenberg also wrote an important book on automata theory. The X-machine, a form of automaton, was introduced by Eilenberg in 1974.

elected publications

* Samuel Eilenberg, "Automata, Languages and Machines". ISBN 0-12-234001-9
* Samuel Eilenberg & Tudor Ganea, [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-486X%28195705%292%3A65%3A3%3C517%3AOTLCOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-J "On the Lusternik-Schnirelmann category of abstract groups"] , "Annals of Mathematics", 2nd Ser., 65 (1957), no. 3, 517 – 518. MathSciNet|id=0085510
* Samuel Eilenberg & Saunders Mac Lane, "Relations between homology and homotopy groups of spaces", "Annals of Mathematics" 46 (1945), 480–509.
* Samuel Eilenberg & Saunders Mac Lane, "Relations between homology and homotopy groups of spaces. II", Annals of Mathematics 51 (1950), 514–533.
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* Samuel Eilenberg & Norman E. Steenrod, "Axiomatic approach to homology theory", Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 31, (1945). 117--120.
* Samuel Eilenberg & Norman E. Steenrod, "Foundations of algebraic topology", Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1952. xv+328 pp.

ee also

*Stefan Banach
*Stanisław Ulam
*Eilenberg-Ganea conjecture
*Eilenberg-MacLane space
*Eilenberg-Moore spectral sequence

External links

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*MacTutor Biography|id=Eilenberg
* [http://newton.nap.edu/html/biomems/seilenberg.html Eilenberg's biography] − from the National Academies Press, by Hyman Bass, Henri Cartan, Peter Freyd, Alex Heller and Saunders Mac Lane.

Persondata
NAME= Eilenberg, Samuel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Polish-American mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH= 1913-9-30
PLACE OF BIRTH= Warsaw, Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH= 1998-1-30
PLACE OF DEATH=