Alexander Grothendieck

Alexander Grothendieck
Alexander Grothendieck in Montreal, 1970
Born	(1928-03-28)28 March 1928 Berlin, Prussia, Germany
Died	13 November 2014(2014-11-13) (aged 86) Saint-Lizier, Ariège, France
Nationality	French since 1971[3][4] Stateless (post 1945 until 1971)[4][5][6]
Alma mater	University of Montpellier University of Nancy
Known for	Renewing algebraic geometry and synthesis between it and number theory and topology List of things named after Alexander Grothendieck
Awards	1966 Fields Medal 1977 Émile Picard Medal 1988 Crafoord Prize (declined)
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics – functional analysis, algebraic geometry, homological algebra
Institutions	Institut des hautes études scientifiques (IHÉS) University of Montpellier[1] University of São Paulo[2]
Thesis	Produits tensoriels topologiques et espaces nucléaires (1953)
Doctoral advisors	Laurent Schwartz Jean Dieudonné
Doctoral students	Pierre Berthelot Pierre Deligne Michel Demazure Pierre Gabriel Jean Giraud Luc Illusie William Messing Michel Raynaud Hoàng Xuân Sính Jean-Louis Verdier

Alexander Grothendieck (/ˈɡroʊtəndiːk/; German pronunciation: [ˌalɛˈksandɐ ˈɡʁoːtn̩ˌdiːk] ^ⓘ; French: [ɡʁɔtɛndik]; 28 March 1928 – 13 November 2014) was a German-born mathematician who became the leading figure in the creation of modern algebraic geometry.^[7][8] His research extended the scope of the field and added elements of commutative algebra, homological algebra, sheaf theory, and category theory to its foundations, while his so-called "relative" perspective led to revolutionary advances in many areas of pure mathematics.^[7][9] He is considered by many to be the greatest mathematician of the twentieth century.^[10][11]

Grothendieck began his productive and public career as a mathematician in 1949. In 1958, he was appointed a research professor at the Institut des hautes études scientifiques (IHÉS) and remained there until 1970, when, driven by personal and political convictions, he left following a dispute over military funding. He received the Fields Medal in 1966 for advances in algebraic geometry, homological algebra, and K-theory.^[12] He later became professor at the University of Montpellier^[1] and, while still producing relevant mathematical work, he withdrew from the mathematical community and devoted himself to political and religious pursuits (first Buddhism and later, a more Catholic Christian vision).^[13] In 1991, he moved to the French village of Lasserre in the Pyrenees, where he lived in seclusion, still working on mathematics and his philosophical and religious thoughts until his death in 2014.^[14]