1898-1924

Russian mathematician who contributed to the study of integral equations and topology. Born in the Ukraine, Urysohn initially studied physics at the University of Moscow, where he attended lectures by Nikolai Luzin and Dimitri Egorov, both active in the mathematics department. Their work inspired Urysohn to bypass physics for math and, after his graduation in 1919, he became an assistant professor at the university. His work came to the attention of the Mathematical Society of Göttingen, and in 1924 he traveled to Germany, Holland, and France to meet with other mathematicians. While on this trip, he accidentally drowned off the coast of Brittany; he was 26 years old.