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Nathan Jacobson (October 5, 1910 – December 5, 1999) 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 On ...
.


Biography

Born Nachman Arbiser in Warsaw, Jacobson emigrated to America with his family in 1918. He graduated from the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publ ...
in 1930 and was awarded a doctorate in mathematics from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
in 1934. While working on his thesis, ''Non-commutative polynomials and cyclic algebras'', he was advised by Joseph Wedderburn. Jacobson taught and researched at
Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...
(1935–1936), the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
(1936–1937), the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...
(1937–1943), and
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
(1943–1947) before joining
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
in 1947. He remained at Yale until his retirement. He was a member of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
and the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
. He served as president 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, meeting ...
from 1971 to 1973, and was awarded their highest honour, the Leroy P. Steele prize for lifetime achievement, in 1998. He was also vice-president of the International Mathematical Union from 1972 to 1974.


Selected works


Books

*Collected Mathematical Papers, 3 vols., 1989
''The theory of Rings.''
1943 *''Lectures in Abstract Algebra.'' 3 vols., Van Nostrand 1951, 1953, 1964, Reprint by Springer 1975 (Vol.1 Basic concepts, Vol.2 Linear Algebra, Vol.3 Theory of fields and Galois theory) *''Structure of Rings.'' AMS 1956 *''Lie Algebras.'' Interscience 1962

AMS 1968

Dekker 1971 *''Basic Algebra.'' Freeman, San Francisco 1974, Vol. 1; 1980, Vol. 2; *''PI-Algebras. An Introduction.'' Springer 1975

1996


Articles

* * * * * * * * * * * * *with F. D. Jacobson: * *with C. E. Rickart: * * * *with C. E. Rickart: * * *


See also

* Jacobson–Bourbaki theorem * Jacobson's conjecture * Jacobson density theorem * Jacobson radical *
Jacobson ring In algebra, a Hilbert ring or a Jacobson ring is a ring such that every prime ideal is an intersection of primitive ideals. For commutative rings primitive ideals are the same as maximal ideals so in this case a Jacobson ring is one in which ev ...


References


External links

* *
An interview with William L. Duren, Nathan Jacobson, and Edward J. McShane about their experiences at Princeton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Nathan 1910 births Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 1999 deaths Polish emigrants to the United States 20th-century American mathematicians Algebraists University of Alabama alumni Princeton University alumni Bryn Mawr College faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Yale University faculty Presidents of the American Mathematical Society