Tobias Dantzig (; February 19, 1884 – August 9, 1956) was an American mathematician, the father of

George Dantzig George Bernard Dantzig (; November 8, 1914 – May 13, 2005) was an American mathematical scientist who made contributions to industrial engineering, operations research, computer science, economics, and statistics. Dantzig is known for his ...

, and the author of '' Number: The Language of Science (A critical survey written for the cultured non-mathematician)'' (1930) and ''Aspects of Science'' (New York, Macmillan, 1937).

Biography

Born in Shavli (then Imperial Russia, now Lithuania) into the family of Shmuel Dantzig (?-1940) and Guta Dimant (1863–1917), he grew up in Lodz and studied mathematics with Henri Poincaré in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

.. His brother Jacob (1891-1942) was murdered by the Nazis during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

; he also had a brother Naftali (who lived in Moscow) and sister Emma. Tobias married a fellow

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sor ...

student, Anja Ourisson, and the couple emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1910. He worked for a time as a lumberjack, road worker, and house painter in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, until returning to academia at the encouragement of

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

mathematician Frank Griffin. Dantzig received his Ph.D. in mathematics from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

in 1917, while working as a professor there. He later taught at Johns Hopkins,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. Dantzig died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1956. He was the father of

, a key figure in the development of linear programming.

Partial list of publications

* '' Number: The Language of Science'' (1930); * ''Aspects of Science'' (1937) * ''Henri Poincaré, Critic of Crisis: Reflections on His Universe of Discourse'' (1954) * ''The Bequest of the Greeks'' (1955);

References

External links

* 1884 births 1956 deaths American science writers 20th-century American mathematicians Jewish American scientists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States University of Paris alumni Indiana University alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty Columbia University faculty University of Maryland, College Park faculty Expatriates from the Russian Empire in France {{US-mathematician-stub