Hermann Minkowski
German mathematician and physicist (1864–1909) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hermann Minkowski (/mɪŋˈkɔːfski, -ˈkɒf-/ ming-KAWF-skee, -KOF-;[2] German: [mɪŋˈkɔfski]; 22 June 1864 – 12 January 1909) was a mathematician and professor at Königsberg, Zürich and Göttingen, described variously as German,[3][4][5] Polish,[6][7][8] or Lithuanian-German,[9] or Russian.[1] He created and developed the geometry of numbers and used geometrical methods to solve problems in number theory, mathematical physics, and the theory of relativity.
Hermann Minkowski | |
---|---|
Born | (1864-06-22)22 June 1864 |
Died | 12 January 1909(1909-01-12) (aged 44) |
Citizenship | Russian Empire[1] or Germany |
Alma mater | Albertina University of Königsberg |
Known for | |
Spouse | Auguste Adler |
Children | 2 |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics, physics, philosophy |
Institutions | University of Göttingen and ETH Zurich |
Doctoral advisor | Ferdinand von Lindemann |
Doctoral students | Constantin Carathéodory Louis Kollros Dénes Kőnig |
Signature | |
Minkowski is perhaps best known for his foundational work describing space and time as a four-dimensional space, now known as "Minkowski spacetime", which facilitated geometric interpretations of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity (1905).