1903-1989

American mathematician who contributed to the study of linear differential equations and spectral theory. The son of a prominent lawyer, Stone attended Harvard, where he earned a doctorate in mathematics in 1926. During World War II, the government invited Stone to participate in undercover war work—a position he retained until 1946. Technically, he was still on staff at Harvard but elected to assume the department chair in mathematics at the University of Chicago. His reputation attracted world-class mathematicians to Chicago and the department flourished under his management. Following his retirement in 1968, he took up a lifelong hobby of travel; he died in Madras, India, while visiting in 1989.