- Wacław Sierpiński
Wacław Franciszek Sierpiński (
March 14 1882 —October 21 1969 ) (pronounced|ˈvaʦwaf fraɲˈʨiʂɛk ɕɛrˈpʲiɲskʲi), a Polishmathematician , was born and died inWarsaw . He was known for outstanding contributions toset theory (research on theaxiom of choice and thecontinuum hypothesis ),number theory , theory of functions andtopology . He published over 700 papers and 50 books.Three well-known
fractal s are named after him (theSierpinski triangle , theSierpinski carpet and theSierpinski curve ), as areSierpinski number s and the associated Sierpiński problem.Education
Sierpiński enrolled in the Department of Mathematics and Physics at the
University of Warsaw in 1899 and graduated four years later. In 1903, while still at the University of Warsaw, the Department of Mathematics and Physics offered a prize for the best essay from a student on Voronoy's contribution to number theory. Sierpiński was awarded a gold medal for his essay, thus laying the foundation for his first major mathematical contribution. Unwilling for his work to be published in Russian, he withheld it until 1907, when it was published in Samuel Dickstein's mathematical magazine 'The Works of Mathematics and Physics'.After his graduation in 1904, Sierpiński worked as a school teacher of mathematics and physics in Warsaw. However, when the school closed because of a strike, Sierpiński decided to go to
Kraków to pursue adoctorate . At theJagiellonian University in Kraków he attended lectures by Stanisław Zaremba onmathematics . He also studiedastronomy andphilosophy . He received his doctorate and was appointed to theUniversity of Lwów in 1908.Contributions to mathematics
In 1907 Sierpiński first became interested in
set theory when he came across a theorem that stated that points in the plane could be specified with a single coordinate. He wrote toTadeusz Banachiewicz (then at Göttingen), asking him how such a result was possible. He received a one-word reply 'Cantor'. Sierpinski began to studyset theory and, in 1909, he gave the first ever lecture course devoted entirely to the subject.Sierpiński maintained an incredible output of research papers and books. During the years 1908 to 1914, when he taught at the University of
Lwów , he published three books in addition to many research papers. These books were "The Theory of Irrational Numbers" (1910), "Outline of Set Theory" (1912), and "The Theory of Numbers" (1912).When
World War I began in 1914, Sierpiński and his family were inRussia . To avoid the persecution that was all too common for Polish foreigners, Sierpinski spent the rest of the war years inMoscow working withNikolai Luzin . Together they began the study ofanalytic set s. In 1916, Sierpiński gave the first example of an absolutely normal number.When
World War I ended in 1918, Sierpiński returned to Lwów. However shortly after taking up his appointment again in Lwów he was offered a post at the University of Warsaw, which he accepted. In 1919 he was promoted to aprofessor . He spent the rest of his life inWarsaw .During the
Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921), Sierpiński helped break Soviet Russiancipher s for the PolishGeneral Staff 's cryptological agency.In 1920, Sierpiński, together with
Zygmunt Janiszewski and his former studentStefan Mazurkiewicz , founded an influential mathematical journalFundamenta Mathematica . Sierpiński edited the journal, which specialized in papers onset theory .During this period, Sierpiński worked predominantly on
set theory , but also onpoint set topology and functions of areal variable . Inset theory he made contributions on theaxiom of choice and on thecontinuum hypothesis . He also worked on what is now known as theSierpinski curve . Sierpiński continued to collaborate with Luzin on investigations of analytic and projective sets. His work on functions of areal variable includes results onfunctional series ,differentiability of functions andBaire's classification .Sierpiński was also highly involved with the development of
mathematics inPoland . He was honored with election to thePolish Academy of Learning in 1921 and that same year was made dean of the faculty at theUniversity of Warsaw . In 1928 he became vice-chairman of theWarsaw Scientific Society, and that same year was elected chairman of thePolish Mathematical Society .Sierpiński authored 724 papers and 50 books (two of which, "Introduction to General Topology" (1934) and "General Topology" (1952) have been translated into English by Canadian
mathematician Cecilia Krieger ). He retired in 1960 asprofessor at the University of Warsaw, but continued till 1967 to give a seminar on the Theory of Numbers at thePolish Academy of Sciences . He also continued editorial work as editor-in-chief of "Acta Arithmetica ", and as an editorial-board member of "Rendiconti dei Circolo Matimatico di Palermo", "Composito Matematica", and "Zentralblatt für Mathematik".Honors received
Honorary Degrees:
Lwów (1929),St. Marks of Lima (1930),Amsterdam (1931), Tarta (1931), Sofia (1939), Prague (1947), Wrocław (1947), Lucknow (1949), and Moscow (1967).He was elected to the Geographic Society of Lima (1931), the Royal Scientific Society of Liège (1934), the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1936), the National Academy of Lima (1939), the Royal Society of Sciences ofNaples (1939), theAccademia dei Lincei ofRome (1947), the Germany Academy of Sciences (1950), theUnited States National Academy of Sciences (1959), the Paris Academy (1960), the Royal Dutch Academy (1961), the Academy of Science of Brussels (1961), theLondon Mathematical Society (1964), theRomanian Academy (1965) and the Papal Academy of Sciences (1967).In 1949 Sierpiński was awarded Poland's Scientific Prize, first class.
Sierpiński is interred at the
Powązki Cemetery inWarsaw ,Poland .ee also
* Arity theorem
*Menger sponge
*Seventeen or Bust
*Sierpiński carpet
*Sierpiński's constant
*Sierpiński curve
* Sierpiński game
*Sierpiński number
*Sierpiński space
*Sierpiński triangle External links
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* [http://www.numbertheory.org/obituaries/AA/sierpinski/ Obituary] – by K. Kuratowski and "A. Schinzel".
* [http://www.seventeenorbust.com/ Sierpinski Distributed Project]Several of Sierpinski's books are available on
* [http://matwbn.icm.edu.pl/ksspis.php?wyd=10 Biblioteka Wirtualna Nauki]Persondata
NAME = Sierpiński, Wacław Franciszek
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Sierpinski, Waclaw Franciszek
SHORT DESCRIPTION = mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH =March 14 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH =Warsaw ,Poland
DATE OF DEATH =October 21 1969
PLACE OF DEATH =Warsaw ,Poland
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