Bartel Leendert van der Waerden

Infobox Scientist
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name = Bartel Leendert van der Waerden


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birth_date = birth date|1903|2|2
birth_place = Amsterdam, Netherlands
death_date = death date and age|1996|1|12|1903|2|2
death_place = Zürich, Switzerland
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nationality = NLD
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fields = Mathematics
workplaces = University of Leipzig
University of Zurich
alma_mater = University of Amsterdam
University of Göttingen
doctoral_advisor = Hendrik de Vries
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known_for = Van der Waerden's theorem
Van der Waerden number
Van der Waerden test
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influences = Emmy Noether
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Bartel Leendert van der Waerden (February 2 1903, Amsterdam, Netherlands – January 12 1996, Zürich, Switzerland) was a Dutch mathematician.

Van der Waerden learned advanced mathematics at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Göttingen, from 1919 until 1926.He was much influenced by Emmy Noether at Göttingen. Amsterdam awarded him a Ph.D. for a thesis on algebraic geometry, supervised by Hendrik de Vries. Göttingen awarded him the habilitation in 1928.

In his 27th year, Van der Waerden published his "Algebra", an influential two-volume treatise on abstract algebra, still cited, and perhaps the first treatise to treat the subject as a comprehensive whole. This work systematized an ample body of research by Emmy Noether, David Hilbert, Richard Dedekind, and Emil Artin. In the following year, 1931, he was appointed professor at the University of Leipzig.

The Third Reich made life difficult for Van der Waerden as a foreigner teaching in Germany, but he refused to give up his Dutch nationality. He filled the chair in mathematics at the University of Amsterdam, 1948–1951, then moved to the University of Zurich, where he spent the rest of his career, supervising more than 40 Ph.D. students.

Van der Waerden is mainly remembered for his work on abstract algebra. He also wrote on algebraic geometry, topology, number theory, geometry, combinatorics, analysis, probability and statistics, and quantum mechanics (he and Heisenberg had been colleagues at Leipzig). In his later years, he turned to the history of mathematics and science. His historical writings include "Ontwakende wetenschap" (1950), which was translated into English as "Science Awakening" (1954), "Geometry and Algebra in Ancient Civilizations" (1983), and "A History of Algebra" (1985).

See also

* Van der Waerden's theorem
* Van der Waerden number
* Van der Waerden test

econdary literature

*Schlote, K.-H., 2005, "Moderne Algebra" in Grattan-Guiness, I., ed., "Landmark Writings in Western Mathematics". Elsevier: 901-16.

External links

*
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* [http://www.ams.org/notices/199703/interview.pdf An interview] with van der Waerden, published after his death.
* A Review of: B. L. van der Waerden, Science awakening, by Hans Freudenthal in "Bull. Amer. Math. Soc.", Vol. 68, Number 6 (1962), 543-545. [http://projecteuclid.org/euclid.bams/1183524913]

Persondata
NAME= Waerden, Bartel Leendert van der
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Dutch mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH= 1903-2-2
PLACE OF BIRTH= Amsterdam, Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH= 1996-1-12
PLACE OF DEATH= Zürich, Switzerland