Alexander Grothendieck PosterAlexander Grothendieck Born: March 28,
1928 Alma mater: • University of Montpellier • University of Nancy
Notable awards: • Fields Medal (1966) • Crafoord Prize (1988,
declined)
Name: Alexander Grothendieck Born: March 28, 1928 Born in Germany,
Berlin Death: Still Living Father: Alexander Shapiro (a.k.a.
Alexander Tanaroff, killed at Auschvitz) Mother: Hanka Grothendieck
Sister: Maidi Grothendieck (half-sister, from mother's first
marriage) Wife: Mireille Dufour (div., three children) Wife:
Justine Skalba (one child)
Growing up background: Alexander Grothendieck was born in Berlin to
anarchist parents: a Ukrainian father from an ultimately Hassidic
family, Alexander "Sascha" Shapiro aka Tanaroff, and a mother from
a German Protestant family, Johanna "Hanka" Grothendieck; both of
his parents had broken away from their early backgrounds in their
teens.[8] At the time of his birth Grothendieck's mother was
married to Johannes Raddatz, a German journalist, and his birthname
was initially recorded as Alexander Raddatz. The marriage was
dissolved in 1929 and Shapiro/Tanaroff acknowledged his paternity,
but never married Hanka Grothendieck.[8]
Grothendieck lived with his parents until 1933 in Berlin. At the
end of that year, Shapiro moved to Paris, and Hanka followed him
the next year. They left Grothendieck in the care of Wilhelm
Heydorn, a Lutheran Pastor and teacher[9] in Hamburg where he went
to school. During this time, his parents fought in the Spanish
Civil War.
Education Math: Number theory, geometry, topology, functional (and
topological) analysis, but especially in the fields of algebraic
geometry and category theory, both of which he
revolutionized.
He developed the theory of sheafs, invented the theory of schemes,
and much more. He is most famous for his methods to unify different
branches of mathematics, for example using algebraic geometry in
number theory.
Topics other than math: In the early 1970s, Grothendieck began
working less on mathematics and more on political causes including
environmentalism and nuclear disarmament.
He spent several years living in an isolated commune, then
converted to Buddhism, then embraced a mystic form of Christianity,
then followed extreme Catholic teachings that had him subsisting
solely on the bread and wine of the Holy Communion. In the late
1980s he went on an extended fast that nearly killed him,
ostensibly in an effort to force God to reveal Himself.
Award: Fields Medal 1996, Crafoord Prize (1988, declined)
Universities: High School: College Cévénol, Le Chambon, France
University: PhD Mathematics, University of
Montpellier (1948) Scholar: Mathematics, École
Normale Supérieure (1948-49) Teacher: Mathematics,
Nance University (1949-53) Teacher: Mathematics,
University of São Paulo (1953-55) Teacher:
Mathematics, University of Kansas (1955-56)
Professor: Algebraic Geometry, Institute des Hautes Etudes
Scientifiques (1959-71) Professor: Mathematics,
Collége de France (1971-73) Professor: Mathematics,
Orsay University (1972-73) Professor: Mathematics,
Université des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc (1973-75)
Professor: Mathematics, University of Montpellier (1984-88)
Professor: Mathematics, Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique (1984-88)
End of Life: Grothendieck's radical political philosophy led him to
retire from public life while still in his prime, but he is still
considered one of the most brilliant mathematicians ever.
site: Greatest Mathematicians of All Time
http://fabpedigree.com/james/mathmen.htm#Grothendieck
site: NNDN tracking the entire world Profile and Bibliography or
Alexander Grothendieck.
http://www.nndb.com/people/593/000203981/
site: Wikipedia Encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck
Site: Alexander Grothendieck Biography
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Grothendieck.html
Site: Planet Math
http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/AlexanderGrothendieck.html
