Johann Radon

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Johann Radon around 1920

Johann Radon (born December 16, 1887 in Tetschen , † May 25, 1956 in Vienna ) was an Austrian mathematician .

Life

Plaque on Radon's birthplace, unveiled on November 28, 2009

Radon his doctorate in 1910 at the University of Vienna to the doctor of philosophy . He spent the winter semester of 1910/11 on a scholarship at the University of Göttingen , where he a. a. Heard lectures by David Hilbert . He then worked as an assistant at the German Technical University in Brno and from 1912 to 1919 as an assistant at the Mathematics II chair at the Technical University in Vienna . In 1913/14 he completed his habilitation at the University of Vienna: his habilitation application was received by the Dean's Office of the Philosophical Faculty on December 17, 1913, and he was authorized to teach mathematics on August 26, 1914. The title of his habilitation thesis was: "Theory and application of absolutely additive set functions". During the war he was exempt from military service because of his severe myopia.

In 1919 he was appointed associate professor at the newly founded University of Hamburg , after which he became a full professor at the University of Greifswald in 1922 and in Erlangen in 1925 . From 1928 to 1945 he was a full professor at the University of Breslau .

Because of the threatened siege by the Red Army , he and his family had to leave Breslau in January 1945; they ended up in Innsbruck, where a sister of his wife lived. After an interlude at the University of Innsbruck , he was appointed full professor at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Vienna on October 1, 1946 . In the academic year 1954/55 he was rector of the University of Vienna. On November 18, 1954, for the inauguration of his rectorate, he gave a speech on the subject of "Mathematics and the Knowledge of Nature".

Radon became a corresponding member in 1939 and a full member in 1947 of the Austrian Academy of Sciences ; from 1952 to 1956 he was secretary of the math and science class of this academy. In 1947 he re-founded the monthly magazine for mathematics . From 1948 to 1950 he was President of the Austrian Mathematical Society .

In 1916, Johann Radon married Marie Rigele, a secondary school teacher who taught science subjects. They had three sons who, however, died at a young age. Her daughter Brigitte, born in 1924, studied mathematics in Innsbruck and received her doctorate there. In 1950 she married the Austrian mathematician Erich Bukovics . He was buried at the Döblinger Friedhof .

Memorial to Johann Radon in the arcade courtyard of the main building of the University of Vienna (Sculptor: Ferdinand Welz , 1987)

Radon, as Curt Christian described him in 1987 on the occasion of the unveiling of the memorial bust, was a lovable, kind man, highly popular with students and colleagues, a distinguished personality. Although he gave the impression of a quiet scholar, he was nonetheless of a sociable nature, not averse to celebrating parties. He loved music and played house music, was an excellent violinist himself and had a beautiful baritone voice; his love for classical literature lasted to the end.

Achievements and appreciation

Radon was an extremely versatile and productive scientist. The Radon transformation , which is used in computer tomography , the Radon numbers , the Radon theorem and the Radon-Nikodým theorem and the Radon-Riesz theorem, which are significant in measure theory, are associated with his name .

In 1921 he received the Richard Lieben Prize .

The Austrian Academy of Sciences has initiated a Radon Medal that can be awarded to people for contributions to areas in which Radon has worked. It was first awarded to Prof. Fritz John (Courant Institute, New York) in 1992 .

In 2003 the Austrian Academy of Sciences founded an Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics in Linz and named it after Johann Radon (see web link below).

literature

  • Curt C. Christian: Speech for the 100th birthday of Johann Radon , Internationale Mathematische Nachrichten 146 (1987) 1
  • Leopold Butterer : Johann Radon (1887 - 1956) , Internationale Mathematische Nachrichten 153 (1990) 15
  • Brigitte Bukovics: The life story of Johann Radon, written by his daughter Brigitte Bukovics. International Mathematical News 162 (1993) 1
  • Brigitte Bukovics: Lebensgeschichte von Johann Radon , in: 75 Years of Radon Transform, S. Gindikin and P. Michor, eds., International Press Incorporated (1994), pp. 19 - 25, ISBN 1-57146-008-X (This article is printed in the web link to Brigitte Bukovics below)
  • S. Gindikin and P. Michor : Preface , in: 75 Years of Radon Transform, S. Gindikin and P. Michor, eds., International Press Incorporated (1994), p 1, ISBN 1-57146-008-X (on the Radon medal)
  • Hans-Joachim Girlich : Johann Radon in Breslau. To institutionalize mathematics. In: M. Halub, A. Manko-Matysiak (Hrsg.): Silesian learned republic. Volume 2. Oficyna, Wrocław, pp. 393-418. http://www.math.uni-leipzig.de/preprint/2005/p4-2005.pdf
  • Christa Binder :  Radon, Johann. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 21, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , p. 98 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Johann Radon  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Personnel file Johann Radon . Archive of the University of Vienna, archive signature PH PA 2967 . ( univie.ac.at ).
  2. ^ Mathematics and knowledge of nature. In: The ceremonial inauguration of the Rector of the University of Vienna for the academic year 1954/55 on November 18, 1954. Vienna: Self-published by the University, 1955, pp. 83-89 .
  3. ^ Grave site of Johann Radon , Vienna, Döblinger Friedhof, Group MO, No. 48.
personal data
SURNAME Radon, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH December 16, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Tetschen
DATE OF DEATH May 25, 1956
Place of death Vienna