Abraham Robinson : the creation of nonstandard analysis, a personal and mathematical odyssey /

One of the most prominent mathematicians of the twentieth century, Abraham Robinson discovered and developed nonstandard analysis, a rigorous theory of infinitesimals that he used to unite mathematical logic with the larger body of historic and modern mathematics. In this first biography of Robinson...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dauben, Joseph Warren (Author)
Corporate Authors: De Gruyter.
Published: Princeton University Press,
Publisher Address: Princeton, N.J. :
Publication Dates: [1998]
©1998
Literature type: eBook
Language: English
Subjects:
Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781400864096
http://www.degruyter.com/doc/cover/9781400864096.jpg
Summary: One of the most prominent mathematicians of the twentieth century, Abraham Robinson discovered and developed nonstandard analysis, a rigorous theory of infinitesimals that he used to unite mathematical logic with the larger body of historic and modern mathematics. In this first biography of Robinson, Joseph Dauben reveals the mathematician's personal life to have been a dramatic one: developing his talents in spite of war and ethnic repression, Robinson personally confronted some of the worst political troubles of our times. With the skill and expertise familiar to readers of Dauben's earlier works, the book combines an explanation of Robinson's revolutionary achievements in pure and applied mathematics with a description of his odyssey from Hitler's Germany to the United States via conflict-ridden Palestine and wartime Europe.Robinson was born in Prussia in 1918. As a boy, he fled with his mother and brother Saul to Palestine. A decade later he narrowly escaped from Paris as the Germans invaded France. Having spent the rest of World War II in England, at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough, he began his teaching career at the Royal College of Aeronautics. Subsequently he moved to universities in Canada, Israel, and finally the United States. A joint appointment in mathematics and philosophy at UCLA led to a position at Yale University, where Robinson served as Sterling Professor of Mathematics until his untimely death at the age of fifty-five.Originally published in 1998.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Carrier Form: 1 online resource (579 pages) : illustrations
ISBN: 9781400864096
Index Number: QA29
CLC: K835.166.1
Contents: Frontmatter --
CONTENTS --
FOREWORD /
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --
CHAPTER ONE. Family and Childhood: Germany 1918-1933 --
CHAPTER TWO. Life in Palestine: 1933-1939 --
CHAPTER THREE. Robinson in Paris: January-June 1940 --
CHAPTER FOUR. Robinson and the War: London 1940-1946 --
CHAPTER FIVE. Robinson after the War: London 1946-1951 --
CHAPTER SIX. The University of Toronto: 1951-1957 --
CHAPTER SEVEN. The Hebrew University: Jerusalem 1957-1962 --
CHAPTER EIGHT. UCLA and Nonstandard Analysis: 1962-1967 --
CHAPTER NINE. Robinson Joins the Ivy League: Yale University 1967-1974 --
EPILOGUE. Abraham Robinson: The Man and His Mathematics --
BIBLIOGRAPHY --
INDEX.