Ernest C. Schlesinger

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ernest Carl Schlesinger (born November 25, 1925 in Hildesheim as Ernst Schlesinger ; † March 3, 2008 in New London, Connecticut ) was a German-American mathematician .

Life

Schlesinger, whose father was the main cashier in a small bank, attended the Andreas-Oberrealschule in Hildesheim from Easter 1936 to November 10, 1938 . He was the last Jewish student at this school. Because his father was a fighter in the First World War , he was tolerated there even after the National Socialist " seizure of power ".

An uncle of Schlesinger's paternal side was beaten to death by SA people in Westphalia . In April 1940, the Schlesingers family received visas for the United States , which they had applied for in 1936. On August 3, 1940, the family reached Seattle via Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Manchuria, Korea, and Japan and settled there. In the course of naturalization, Schlesinger's first name was changed.

After two years of service in the US Army from 1943 to 1945, he studied mathematics and philosophy at the University of Washington until 1947 . In 1955 he acquired a Ph. D. from Harvard University supervised by Lars Valerian Ahlfors . From 1955 to 1958 Schlesinger taught mathematics at Yale University and from 1958 to 1962 at Wesleyan University . While at Yale, he became infected with polio and spent a month in an iron lung as a result . From 1962 he worked at Connecticut College . In 1996 he retired. Since 1955 he was a member of the Mathematical Association of America .

Only in 2002 did former classmates find out about his whereabouts through the Red Cross . In June 2003 he then visited his hometown.

Schlesinger was married and had a son and a daughter. He died after colon cancer surgery .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Annual report of the Scharnhorstgymnasium 2002, page 73.
  2. ^ Annual report of the Scharnhorstgymnasium 2002, page 75.
  3. ↑ a b Annual report of the Scharnhorstgymnasium 2002, page 76.
  4. ^ A b Perry Susskind: Tribute to Ernest Schlesinger. Archived from the original on April 1, 2009 ; Retrieved June 2, 2010 .
  5. ↑ In Memoriam Archive. 2009. MAA , accessed June 2, 2010 .
  6. ↑ a b Annual report of the Scharnhorstgymnasium 2009, page 105.
personal data
SURNAME Schlesinger, Ernest C.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schlesinger, Ernest Carl (full name); Schlesinger, Ernst (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-American mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH November 25, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Hildesheim
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 2008
Place of death New London, Connecticut