1928-

French Mathematician

Alexander Grothendieck is regarded by many as one of the preeminent mathematicians of the twentieth century. He is credited with establishing a new school of algebraic geometry, and his work garnered a Fields Medal in 1966 for advancement of K-theory (Grothendieck groups and rings).

Born in Berlin, Grothendieck emigrated to France 1941. He earned his doctorate at the University of Nancy in 1953, and thereafter served in several academic posts around the world, including Harvard, before returning to France. Although he concentrated his early efforts on advances in functional analysis, during his international travels he shifted the emphasis of his work and subsequently made substantial contributions to topology and algebraic geometry.

In 1959 Grothendieck accepted an appointment at the French Institute des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques (Institute for Advanced Scientific Studies). Concerned, however, over military funding of the Institute, Grothendieck eventually resigned his post in 1969. An ardent pacifist...