Václav Hlavatý

Václav Hlavatý (27 January, 1894-11 January 1969) was a noted Czech-American mathematician, who wrote on the Theory of Relativity and corresponded extensively with Albert Einstein on the subject. [ [http://homepages.indiana.edu/011901/text/fastfacts.html Indiana University] fast facts] In particular, Hlavatý solved some very difficult equations relating to Einstein's Unified field theory, which featured in the news media as one of the great scientific achievements of 1953. [ [http://www.library.jhu.edu/collections/specialcollections/jhuxmlkineFind.body.html Johns Hopkins Television Programs 1948-1960] ] Einstein himself was reported to have said in advance that if anyone could solve the equations it would be Professor Hlavatý, which proved to be the case. [http://www.financnici.cz/vaclav-hlavaty Václav Hlavatý] Biography citing the New York Herald Tribune]

He was born in Louny, (now in the Czech Republic) and died in Bloomington, Indiana. He first worked at the Charles University in Prague [V. Hlavatý (1928) "Mathematische Zeitschrift", Vol 28, No 1, Bemerkung zur Arbeit von Herrn T. Y. Thomas] and during World War II participated in the Prague uprising, but his academic career was mainly at Indiana University, which he joined in 1948, and where he became Professor Emeritus of Mathematics. A special book of mathematical essays was published in his honour.B. Hoffman (ed.) (1966) "Perspectives in Geometry and Relativity. Essays in Honor of Václav Hlavatý" Indiana University Press] .

Some Publications

*Václav Hlavatý (1952) "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America", Vol. 38, No. 3 (Mar. 15, 1952), pp. 243-247 "The Elementary Basic Principles of the Unified Theory of Relativity"
*Václav Hlavatý (1952) "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America", Vol. 38, No. 5 (May 15, 1952), pp. 415-419 "The Einstein Connection of the Unified Theory of Relativity"
*Václav Hlavatý (1952) "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America", Vol. 38, No. 12 (Dec 15, 1952), pp. 1052-1058 "The Schrödinger Final Affine Field Laws"
*Václav Hlavatý (1953) "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America", Vol. 39, No. 6 (Jun. 15, 1953), pp. 501-506 "The Spinor Connection in the Unified Einstein Theory of Relativity"
*Václav Hlavatý (1953) "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America", Vol. 39, No. 6 (Jun. 15, 1953), pp. 507-510 "Connections Between Einstein's Two Unified Theories of Relativity"
*Václav Hlavatý (1957) "Geometry of Einstein’s Unified Field Theory", P. Noordhoff Ltd., Groningen

References

* [http://www.financnici.cz/vaclav-hlavaty Václav Hlavatý] biography (in Czech)
* [http://www.mff.cuni.cz/toISO8859-2.en/fakulta/lib/hlavat.htm Václav Hlavatý] biography (in Czech) includes photograph