Franz Hilbert

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Franz Hilbert (born August 11, 1893 in Cranz on the Samland coast , † 1969 in Göttingen ) was the only child of mathematician David Hilbert and his wife Käthe, b. Jerosch. For much of his life he suffered from an undiagnosed mental disorder . This also burdened his father.

parents

David Hilbert was a German mathematician and is considered one of the most important mathematicians of modern times.

Käthe Jerosch (born March 31, 1864 in Braunsberg in Warmia , † January 17, 1945 in Göttingen ) came from a family that had been friends with the Hilberts for a long time. David Hilbert and Käthe Jerosch had been friends for a long time before they married on October 12, 1892. David Hilbert followed a call to Göttingen in 1895 and moved there with his family.

In the Göttingen society it was later inaccurately rumored that they were first cousins, but that they were not directly related.

Life

Franz Hilbert was born on August 11, 1893 in the Royal Prussian Lake and Mud Baths in Cranz / Selenogradsk near Königsberg / Kaliningrad.

As a baby, Franz could cry out over all other babies, according to David Hilbert. Learning to speak was probably difficult for Franz. Hermann Minkowski , a close friend, ultimately taught Franz to speak through encouragement and play. When he started school (1899/1900?) Franz could not indicate his religious affiliation. The son was not introduced at the lively parties that often took place in the Hilbert family from 1902 onwards.

Franz's academic performance was not good. In 1909 Richard Courant was a private tutor at a girls' school in Göttingen and assistant to David Hilbert. He was asked to tutor Franz because his mother was teaching him mathematics. After a change of school, the performance improved a little. Courant describes Franz as approachable, not unintelligent or untalented, but: I was always impressed by the fact that the boy has a memory like a photographic plate that you put in the developer and then something nice comes out of. But after a short while a veil covers it, everything becomes more indistinct and finally nothing is left on the record (from English). An undated picture probably shows Franz at this time.

Franz was temporarily assigned to a gardener in Göttingen as an assistant. He also had a small job in a bookstore in Frankfurt. However, he got nowhere. It slowly became clear that Franz suffered from a mental disorder . When the war started in 1914, Franz was 21 years old. He was not accepted by the army, although all men fit for military service, including lecturers from Göttingen, were drafted.

One evening Franz appeared at home covered with dirt and excited. He had left his job in Frankfurt and took the train to Göttingen. He had left this a few stops before Göttingen and walked. He came to save his parents from evil spirits that were after them. There was a heated discussion while Franz tried to beat his father, mother and Courant. Hilbert held Franz's hand on the table. A psychiatric professor gave him an injection to calm him down. Franz was brought by taxi to a clinic for the mentally ill near the University of Göttingen. Towards morning Hilbert and Courant left the clinic. Hilbert is said to have said calmly, sadly and finally sounding: From now on I have to consider myself as someone who has no son (from English).

This tragedy was the trigger for the assumptions that arose in Göttingen society that David and Käthe Hilbert were first cousins ​​(see above). The mother was concerned about the father's behavior. She still regarded Franz as her son. Hilbert is said to never have visited his son during the hospital stay.

Presumably Franz was released from the clinic in 1919 and received small odd jobs through the intermediary of the University of Göttingen. But he couldn't do this for a long time. His mother brought him back home. The peace in the Hilbert house was thereby disturbed. The father wanted a quiet house, the mother did not want to give up her son. Tensions developed between the couple. Hilbert turned 60 on January 23, 1922. On the birthday photo, Franz Hilbert sits in a prominent position in the first row between Richard Courant and his wife. Franz was still at home on his 75th birthday in 1937.

David Hilbert died on February 14, 1943. His wife Käthe died almost blind and lonely on January 17, 1945.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Günther Frei : The correspondence David Hilbert-Felix Klein . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1985, limited preview in the Google book search
  2. ^ Monuments on Mathematicians / Grave of D. Hilbert. In: w-volk.de. Retrieved January 9, 2015 .
  3. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd edition 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , p. 40.
  4. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd ed. 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , p. 139. After that they were cousins ​​by marriage .
  5. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd edition 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , p. 104
  6. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd edition 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , p. 91.
  7. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd edition 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , p. 92.
  8. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd edition 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , pp. 123/124.
  9. ↑ Details for Franz Hilbert. In: owpdb.mfo.de. April 12, 2005, accessed January 9, 2015 .
  10. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd ed. 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , pp. 138/139.
  11. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd edition 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , p. 139.
  12. ↑ Doxiadis, Apostolos and Papadimitriou, Christos H: Logicomix - An epic search for truth , Süddeutsche Zeitung Bibliothek, 2012, ISBN 978-3-86497-004-7 , pp. 282 and 330.
  13. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd ed. 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , p. 151/152.
  14. ↑ Fig. 60th birthday, Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd edition 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , p. 238.
  15. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd ed. 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , p. 210.
  16. ^ Reid, Constance: Hilbert , Springer Verlag, 2nd ed. 1972, ISBN 0-387-04999-1 , ISBN 3-540-04999-1 , p. 215.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hilbert, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION only child of mathematician David Hilbert
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Cranz
DATE OF DEATH 1969
Place of death Goettingen