Felix Bernstein (24 February 1878 – 3 December 1956), was a German
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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
known for proving in 1896 the
Schröder–Bernstein theorem, a central result in
set theory
Set theory is the branch of mathematical logic that studies Set (mathematics), sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects. Although objects of any kind can be collected into a set, set theory – as a branch of mathema ...
,
[In 1897 (aged 19), according to
] and less well known for demonstrating in 1924 the correct
blood group inheritance pattern of multiple
allele
An allele is a variant of the sequence of nucleotides at a particular location, or Locus (genetics), locus, on a DNA molecule.
Alleles can differ at a single position through Single-nucleotide polymorphism, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), ...
s at one
locus through
statistical analysis
Statistical inference is the process of using data analysis to infer properties of an underlying probability distribution.Upton, G., Cook, I. (2008) ''Oxford Dictionary of Statistics'', OUP. . Inferential statistical analysis infers properties of ...
.
Life
Felix Bernstein was born in
Halle on 24 February 1878 to a Jewish family of academics. His father
Julius held the Chair of Physiology at the
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, and was the Director of the Physiological Institute at the University of Halle.
While still in
gymnasium in Halle, Bernstein heard the university seminar of
Georg Cantor
Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp Cantor ( ; ; – 6 January 1918) was a mathematician who played a pivotal role in the creation of set theory, which has become a foundations of mathematics, fundamental theory in mathematics. Cantor establi ...
, who was a friend of Bernstein's father.
From 1896 to 1900, Bernstein studied in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Halle,
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and
Göttingen
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
.
In the early
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
, Bernstein temporarily was Göttingen vice-chairman of the local chapter of
German Democratic Party
The German Democratic Party (, DDP) was a liberal political party in the Weimar Republic, considered centrist or centre-left. Along with the right-liberal German People's Party (, DVP), it represented political liberalism in Germany between 19 ...
.
[ — Schappacher gives a lot of details from the Göttingen University archive.]
In 1933,
[In 1934, according to O'Connor, Robertson (MacTutor).]
after
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
's rise to power, Bernstein was removed from his chair, per §6 of the Nazi
Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service
The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service (, shortened to ''Berufsbeamtengesetz''), also known as Civil Service Law, Civil Service Restoration Act, and Law to Re-establish the Civil Service, was enacted by the Nazi Party, Na ...
, often used against politically unpopular persons.
He received the message of his dismissal during a research/lecturing journey (started on Dec. 1st, 1932) to the United States, and he stayed there.
Bernstein was a visiting professor of mathematics at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
from 1933 to 1936 and a professor of
biometry
Biostatistics (also known as biometry) is a branch of statistics that applies statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experime ...
at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
from 1936 to 1943. In 1942 he was elected a fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
.
In 1948, Bernstein retired from teaching in the US, and returned to Europe.
He mainly lived in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
, occasionally visiting Göttingen,
where he became
professor emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
...
.
He died in
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
on 3 December 1956.
Publications
*
* (Dissertation, 1901); reprint Jan 2010,
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* &mdash
Correctionsin Vol.29 (1920), p. 94
*
Notes
References
External links
Biographyat th
Felix-Bernstein-Institute for Mathematical Statistics in the Biosciencesat the
Göttingen University
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Felix
1878 births
1956 deaths
20th-century German mathematicians
People from Halle (Saale)
People from the Province of Saxony
20th-century German Jews
Set theorists
University of Göttingen alumni
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States
Mathematicians from the German Empire