Oswald Veblen is remembered mainly for his contributions to topology and differential and projective geometry, many of which scientists later found useful in atomic physics and relativity. He taught for many years at Princeton University and helped found the university's Institute for Advanced Study (IAS).

Veblen was born in Decorah, Iowa on June 24, 1880, the son of Norwegian immigrants. His father taught physics at the University of Iowa. Veblen attended school in Iowa City, enrolling at the University of Iowa in 1894. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1898 and then worked as a laboratory assistant at the school for a year before transferring to Harvard University. There he completed another BA in 1900 before going on to the University of Chicago for his doctorate, which he earned in 1903. His doctoral thesis was "A System of Axioms for Geometry."

Veblen started his long career at Princeton University in 1905. In 1910 he compiled much...