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Lars Ahlfors
Mathematician

Lars Ahlfors

Famoose for

Advancing complex analysis and becoming an inaugural Fields medallist.

Denjoy–Carleman–Ahlfors theorem · Complex Analysis

Born
18 April 1907
Birthplace
Helsinki
Died
11 October 1996

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Lars Ahlfors

Lars Ahlfors was a Finnish mathematician known for work on complex functions, Riemann surfaces and mappings. His textbook helped train generations of mathematicians.

Early life

Helsinki studies

Studied with Ernst Lindelöf and Rolf Nevanlinna and completed his doctorate in 1930.

Career

  1. 1929

    Early breakthrough

    Proved a major result on asymptotic values of entire functions.

  2. 1936

    Fields Medal

    Was one of the first two recipients.

  3. 1946–1977

    Harvard

    Spent the remainder of his main teaching career there.

Contributions

Denjoy–Carleman–Ahlfors theorem

Established a bound related to entire functions.

Complex Analysis

Published his influential textbook.

Beyond work

Migration

His academic career took him from Finland through Switzerland to the United States.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Konrad Jacobs, Erlangen. CC BY-SA 2.0 de · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.