American Geometer
1924–

Mandelbrot's untraditional education, which included self-instruction, gave him the ability to study mathematical issues in a unique way. He is shown here in front of a fractal (self-similar) image that bears his name.

Benoit B. Mandelbrot, called the father of fractal geometry, was born November 20, 1924, in Warsaw, Poland, into a well-educated Jewish family. In 1936 the family moved to France where Benoit spent time with his uncle, Szolem Mandelbrojt, who was a professor of mathematics at the prestigious Collège de France in Paris, and who took an interest in Benoit's education.

Szolem Mandelbrojt recommended that Benoit study the work of Gaston Julia, whose 1918 paper was considered a mathematical masterpiece and a source of good problems. At the time, Benoit expressed little interest for the kind of mathematics that he found in Julia's paper, much to the dismay of his uncle, but instead...