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Heisuke Hironaka
Mathematician

Heisuke Hironaka

Famoose for

Resolving singularities in algebraic geometry.

Fields Medal

Born
9 April 1931
Birthplace
Yamaguchi
Died
March 2026

More people

Marie CurieDiscovering polonium and radium.Albert EinsteinDeveloping the theory of relativity.Charles DarwinExplaining evolution through natural selection.

Heisuke Hironaka

Japanese mathematician whose work earned the 1970 Fields Medal. Taught in the United States and Japan and later led Yamaguchi University.

Early life

Changing direction

Entered Kyoto University to study physics, then concentrated on mathematics. Studied with Yasuo Akizuki before doctoral work with Oscar Zariski at Harvard.

Career

  1. 1960

    Harvard doctorate

    Completed a thesis on birational blowing-up.

  2. 1968

    Harvard faculty

    Became a professor after appointments at Brandeis and Columbia.

  3. 1996–2002

    University leadership

    Served as president of Yamaguchi University.

Contributions

Fields Medal

Recognised for his contributions to algebraic geometry.

Beyond work

Family and observation

Married Wakako Kimoto in 1960 and had two children. Collected photographs of plants, enjoying the mathematical patterns he found in flowers and leaves.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗Additional biographical or achievement source ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: 日本学士院. CC BY 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.