Contents
Alexander Grothendieck
Transforming the foundations of modern algebraic geometry.
Tôhoku paper · Schemes
- Born
- 28 March 1928
- Birthplace
- Berlin
- Died
- 13 November 2014
More people
Alexander Grothendieck
Alexander Grothendieck was a German-born French mathematician whose work reshaped algebraic geometry and connected it with category theory and homological algebra.
Early life
Childhood
Fled Nazi Germany as a child and survived wartime internment in France; his father was murdered at Auschwitz.
Studies
Studied in Montpellier and completed doctoral research in Nancy under Laurent Schwartz and Jean Dieudonné.
Career
- 1953
Doctorate
Completed research in functional analysis.
- 1958–1970
IHÉS
Developed major work in algebraic geometry at the French research institute.
- 1966
Fields Medal
Received mathematics’ international award.
Contributions
Tôhoku paper
Introduced a framework for homological algebra using abelian categories.
Schemes
Expanded the objects and methods available for studying algebraic equations.
Beyond research
Convictions
Left IHÉS in 1970 after objecting to military funding. Later withdrew from public mathematical life.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and career ↗Biographical references ↗Additional biographical source ↗Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
Photo: Konrad Jacobs, Erlangen, Copyright by MFO / Original uploader was AEDP at it.wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.