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Hermann Weyl

Mathematics

Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl was a German mathematician, theoretical physicist, logician and philosopher who lived from 1885 to 1955 and worked chiefly in Zurich and Princeton. He made major contributions across number theory, differential geometry, quantum mechanics and the mathematical foundations of general relativity, and his research in Lie groups, representation theory, gauge theory and eigenvalue distribution shaped much of twentieth century mathematics. Colleagues considered him one of the few mathematicians able to stand comparison with Hilbert and Poincare for the breadth of his work.

Facts
Birth Year
1885 1
Birth Date
1885-11-09 1
Death Date
1955-12-08 1
Death Year
1955 1
Field
Group theory and mathematical physics 1
Death Place
Zürich, Switzerland 1
Notable Work
Raum-Zeit-Materie 1
Birthplace
Elmshorn, Germany 1
Sources
1. Weyl - MacTutor
  • Biography header, Born line
    Born 9 November 1885 Elmshorn (near Hamburg), Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
  • Biography header, Died line
    Died 8 December 1955 Zürich, Switzerland
  • Summary line at top of page
    From 1923-38 Weyl evolved the concept of continuous groups using matrix representations. With his application of group theory to quantum mechanics he set up the modern subject.
  • Biography text, second book
    The lectures formed the basis of Weyl's second book _Raum-Zeit-Materie_ Ⓣwhich first appeared in 1918 with further editions, each showing how his ideas were developing, in 1919, 1920, and 1923.
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