Kurt Hirsch
Encyclopedia
Kurt August Hirsch was a German
mathematician
. He studied at the University of Berlin where he was taught by Bieberbach
, von Mises, Schmidt, and Schur
. Although most influenced by Schur, his doctoral dissertation was on the philosophy of mathematics. The thesis examines the 1920s dispute between Hilbert
and Brouwer
on the foundations of mathematics. Completed and examined in 1930 (Bieberbach was an examiner), it was not until 1933 that Hirsch could afford to get it printed, so he did not receive the degree until 1933.
Hirsch became a journalist
, writing a scientific column. However he kept up his mathematics attending a study group where he studied Emmy Noether
's work and read Schreier
's paper on the Jordan-Hölder theorem. Influenced by these ideas he decided to study soluble groups with the maximum condition on subgroups.
Hirsch's wife, whom he married in 1928, was Jewish, and he adopted the faith for her sake. He had little choice but to leave for England
(where he had distant relatives). On arriving in England in 1934 he was met by Bernhard Neumann
and Hanna von Caemmerer (later to become Hanna Neumann
who was visiting Bernhard). He had known Bernhard as a fellow student in Berlin
. Kurt was introduced to Philip Hall
and he was encouraged to pursue his intention of working on soluble groups with the maximum condition on subgroups.
Despite having a doctorate, Hirsch completed a second one at Cambridge
in 1937 on polycyclic group
s under Philip Hall
's supervision. Appointed to Leicester in 1938 he was interned as "an enemy alien" in 1940 in a POW camp on the Isle of Man
. He worked there as a cook (and retained an interest in recipes all his life) but was soon released and returned to Leicester
. That he had interests outside mathematics is illustrated by the fact that he was Leicester County Chess Champion in 1945-46.
In 1948 Hirsch moved to King's College, Newcastle (founded in 1937 as a part of the University of Durham and becoming the University of Newcastle in 1963). While at Newcastle he began translating Kurosh
's The theory of groups into English, a project he was to work on for a number of years. He was a leading reformer of the mathematics syllabus at Newcastle where again he found time to win the County Chess Championship in 1950.
Then in 1951 Hirsch was appointed to Queen Mary College of the University of London
where he remained building up a strong algebra school. He sought Hall's advice in appointments of algebraists and attracted many research students to make a thriving group theory school. In [1] Gruenberg writes:-
All Hirsch's publications were in group theory
, in addition to the work on polycyclic group
s, he published on locally nilpotent
groups and automorphism groups of torsion free abelian groups. The Hirsch length is named after him.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
. He studied at the University of Berlin where he was taught by Bieberbach
Ludwig Bieberbach
Ludwig Georg Elias Moses Bieberbach was a German mathematician.-Biography:Born in Goddelau, near Darmstadt, he studied at Heidelberg and under Felix Klein at Göttingen, receiving his doctorate in 1910. His dissertation was titled On the theory of automorphic functions...
, von Mises, Schmidt, and Schur
Issai Schur
Issai Schur was a mathematician who worked in Germany for most of his life. He studied at Berlin...
. Although most influenced by Schur, his doctoral dissertation was on the philosophy of mathematics. The thesis examines the 1920s dispute between Hilbert
David Hilbert
David Hilbert was a German mathematician. He is recognized as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of...
and Brouwer
Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer
Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer FRS , usually cited as L. E. J. Brouwer but known to his friends as Bertus, was a Dutch mathematician and philosopher, a graduate of the University of Amsterdam, who worked in topology, set theory, measure theory and complex analysis.-Biography:Early in his career,...
on the foundations of mathematics. Completed and examined in 1930 (Bieberbach was an examiner), it was not until 1933 that Hirsch could afford to get it printed, so he did not receive the degree until 1933.
Hirsch became a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, writing a scientific column. However he kept up his mathematics attending a study group where he studied Emmy Noether
Emmy Noether
Amalie Emmy Noether was an influential German mathematician known for her groundbreaking contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics. Described by David Hilbert, Albert Einstein and others as the most important woman in the history of mathematics, she revolutionized the theories of...
's work and read Schreier
Otto Schreier
Otto Schreier was an Austrian mathematician who made major contributions in combinatorial group theory and in the topology of Lie groups. He studied mathematics at the University of Vienna and obtained his doctorate in 1923, under the supervision of Philipp Furtwängler...
's paper on the Jordan-Hölder theorem. Influenced by these ideas he decided to study soluble groups with the maximum condition on subgroups.
Hirsch's wife, whom he married in 1928, was Jewish, and he adopted the faith for her sake. He had little choice but to leave for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(where he had distant relatives). On arriving in England in 1934 he was met by Bernhard Neumann
Bernhard Neumann
Bernhard Hermann Neumann AC FRS was a German-born British mathematician who was one of the leading figures in group theory, greatly influencing the direction of the subject....
and Hanna von Caemmerer (later to become Hanna Neumann
Hanna Neumann
Johanna Neumann was a German-born mathematician who worked on group theory.Johanna was born in Lankwitz, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. She attended Auguste-Viktoria-Schule and the University of Berlin and completed her studies in 1936 with distinctions in mathematics and physics. She began...
who was visiting Bernhard). He had known Bernhard as a fellow student in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Kurt was introduced to Philip Hall
Philip Hall
Philip Hall FRS , was an English mathematician.His major work was on group theory, notably on finite groups and solvable groups.-Biography:...
and he was encouraged to pursue his intention of working on soluble groups with the maximum condition on subgroups.
Despite having a doctorate, Hirsch completed a second one at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in 1937 on polycyclic group
Polycyclic group
In mathematics, a polycyclic group is a solvable group that satisfies the maximal condition on subgroups...
s under Philip Hall
Philip Hall
Philip Hall FRS , was an English mathematician.His major work was on group theory, notably on finite groups and solvable groups.-Biography:...
's supervision. Appointed to Leicester in 1938 he was interned as "an enemy alien" in 1940 in a POW camp on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. He worked there as a cook (and retained an interest in recipes all his life) but was soon released and returned to Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
. That he had interests outside mathematics is illustrated by the fact that he was Leicester County Chess Champion in 1945-46.
In 1948 Hirsch moved to King's College, Newcastle (founded in 1937 as a part of the University of Durham and becoming the University of Newcastle in 1963). While at Newcastle he began translating Kurosh
Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh
Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh was a Soviet mathematician, known for his work in abstract algebra. He is credited with writing the first modern and high-level text on group theory, his The Theory of Groups published in 1944.He was born in Yartsevo near Smolensk, and died in Moscow. He received his...
's The theory of groups into English, a project he was to work on for a number of years. He was a leading reformer of the mathematics syllabus at Newcastle where again he found time to win the County Chess Championship in 1950.
Then in 1951 Hirsch was appointed to Queen Mary College of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
where he remained building up a strong algebra school. He sought Hall's advice in appointments of algebraists and attracted many research students to make a thriving group theory school. In [1] Gruenberg writes:-
"Hirsch was a shrewd judge of people and managed to create at Queen Mary College an unusually friendly environment for students as well as staff. Everyone felt encouraged to be cooperative. Younger members of staff found him easy to work with and knew they could count on his help and protection. He gave them generously of his time with sound advice on teaching, on examining and on supervising research students."
All Hirsch's publications were in group theory
Group theory
In mathematics and abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as groups.The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as rings, fields, and vector spaces can all be seen as groups endowed with additional operations and...
, in addition to the work on polycyclic group
Polycyclic group
In mathematics, a polycyclic group is a solvable group that satisfies the maximal condition on subgroups...
s, he published on locally nilpotent
Locally nilpotent
In the mathematical field of commutative algebra, an ideal I in a commutative ring A is locally nilpotent at a prime ideal p if the ideal is nilpotent in a Zariski open neighborhood of p...
groups and automorphism groups of torsion free abelian groups. The Hirsch length is named after him.
External links
- Mathematical ReviewsMathematical ReviewsMathematical Reviews is a journal and online database published by the American Mathematical Society that contains brief synopses of many articles in mathematics, statistics and theoretical computer science.- Reviews :...
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