Bent Fuglede (8 October 1925 – 7 December 2023) was a Danish mathematician.

Early life and career

Fuglede was known for his contributions to mathematical analysis, in particular

functional analysis Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure (for example, Inner product space#Definition, inner product, Norm (mathematics ...

, where he proved

Fuglede's theorem In mathematics, Fuglede's theorem is a result in operator theory, named after Bent Fuglede. The result Theorem (Fuglede) Let ''T'' and ''N'' be bounded operators on a complex Hilbert space with ''N'' being normal. If ''TN'' = ''NT'', then ''TN* ...

and stated Fuglede's conjecture. Fuglede graduated from

Skt. Jørgens Gymnasium Skt. Jørgens Gymnasium (1858–1991) was a Danish high school located in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. It was established in 1858 as ''Frk. Jessens Forberedelsesskole'' and changed name to ''J.V. Jessens Latin- og Realskole'' in 1889. After yet a n ...

1943 and received his mag. scient. og cand. mag. in 1948 at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

after which he studied in USA until 1951. In 1952 he was employed as scientific assistant at

Den Polytekniske Læreanstalt The Technical University of Denmark (), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and it is today ran ...

and in 1954 as amanuensis at Matematisk Institut University of Copenhagen, in 1958 associate professor, and in 1959 head of department.''70 år: Bent Fuglede'' Politiken, 7 October 1995, 1. sektion, Side 15''Matematik for viderekomne. 70 i dag'' Berlingske Tidende, 8 October 1995, 2.sekt, Magasin, Side 13 Fuglede also spent one year in Lund (Sweden) as Nordic docent. Fuglede received his dr.phil. (Ph.D.) in 1960 from the University of Copenhagen; his

doctoral advisor A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well ...

was

Børge Jessen Børge Christian Jessen (19 June 1907 – 20 March 1993) was a Danish mathematician best known for his work in analysis, specifically on the Riemann zeta function, and in geometry, specifically on Hilbert's third problem. Early years Jessen was ...

, after which he became professor of math at

Danmarks tekniske Højskole The Technical University of Denmark (), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and it is today ran ...

. In 1965 he became professor of math at the University of Copenhagen, where he stayed until his retirement in 1992. Fuglede was a member of the

Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters ({{Langx, da, Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab or ''Videnskabernes Selskab'') is a Danish academy of science. The Royal Danish Academy was established on 13 November 1742, and was create ...

, the

Finnish Academy of Science and Letters The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (; ) is a Finnish learned society. It was founded in 1908 and is thus the second oldest academy in Finland. The oldest is the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, which was founded in 1838. Member ...

. and the ''Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften''. In 2012 he became a fellow of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

Personal life and death

Fuglende was married to

Ólafía Einarsdóttir Ólafía Einarsdóttir (28 July 1924 – 19 December 2017) was an Icelandic archaeologist and historian, specialising in Icelandic chronology. She was the first Icelander to complete a degree in archaeology. After completing her PhD from Lund Un ...

, an Icelandic archeologist and historian. They had one child together, Einar. Bent Fuglede died in Copenhagen on 7 December 2023, at the age of 98.

Books

* *

References

External links

Fuglede's homepage
at the University of Copenhagen {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuglede, Bent 1925 births 2023 deaths Danish mathematicians University of Copenhagen alumni Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters Members of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences Members of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Scientists from Copenhagen