Anthony Perry Morse (21 August 1911 – 6 March 1984) was an American

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History O ...

who worked in both

analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (3 ...

, especially

measure theory In mathematics, the concept of a measure is a generalization and formalization of geometrical measures (length, area, volume) and other common notions, such as mass and probability of events. These seemingly distinct concepts have many simi ...

, and in the

foundations of mathematics Foundations of mathematics is the study of the philosophical and logical and/or algorithmic basis of mathematics, or, in a broader sense, the mathematical investigation of what underlies the philosophical theories concerning the nature of mathe ...

. He is best known as the co-creator, together with

John L. Kelley John L. Kelley (December 6, 1916, Kansas – November 26, 1999, Berkeley, California) was an American mathematician at the University of California, Berkeley, who worked in general topology and functional analysis. Kelley's 1955 text, ''General ...

, of Morse–Kelley set theory. This theory first appeared in print in Kelley's ''General Topology''. Morse's own version appeared later in ''A Theory of Sets''. He is also known for his work on the Morse–Sard theorem and the Federer–Morse theorem. Anthony Morse should not be confused with

Marston Morse Harold Calvin Marston Morse (March 24, 1892 – June 22, 1977) was an American mathematician best known for his work on the ''calculus of variations in the large'', a subject where he introduced the technique of differential topology now known ...

, known for developing

Morse theory In mathematics, specifically in differential topology, Morse theory enables one to analyze the topology of a manifold by studying differentiable functions on that manifold. According to the basic insights of Marston Morse, a typical differentiab ...

Career

He received his PhD in 1937 at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Provide ...

with C. R. Adams as thesis advisor. After two years at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

he joined the mathematics faculty at Berkeley where except for two interruptions he worked for the rest of his life on mathematics. In the first of these, from 1943 until the end of World War II, he worked on ballistics at the

Aberdeen Proving Ground Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work a ...

. In 1950 his life was interrupted by the

McCarthyist McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...

loyalty oath controversy. He was one of 29 "non-signers". But he was also one of 6 who took advantage of a 10-day grace period to sign, while continuing to refer to the remaining non-signers as "patriots." His doctoral students include Herbert Federer,

Woody Bledsoe Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Bledsoe (November 12, 1921 – October 4, 1995) was an American mathematician, computer scientist, and prominent educator. He is one of the founders of artificial intelligence (AI), making early contributions in pattern re ...

, and Maurice Sion.

References

External links

Obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, Anthony 20th-century American mathematicians University of California, Berkeley faculty 1911 births 1984 deaths Brown University alumni