Ivan Georgiyevich Petrovsky (; 18 January 1901 – 15 January 1973) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 ...

working mainly in the field of

partial differential equation In mathematics, a partial differential equation (PDE) is an equation which involves a multivariable function and one or more of its partial derivatives. The function is often thought of as an "unknown" that solves the equation, similar to ho ...

s. He greatly contributed to the solution of

Hilbert David Hilbert (; ; 23 January 1862 – 14 February 1943) was a German mathematician and philosophy of mathematics, philosopher of mathematics and one of the most influential mathematicians of his time. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad ...

's 19th and 16th problems, and discovered what are now called Petrovsky lacunas. He also worked on the theories of

boundary value problem In the study of differential equations, a boundary-value problem is a differential equation subjected to constraints called boundary conditions. A solution to a boundary value problem is a solution to the differential equation which also satis ...

probability Probability is a branch of mathematics and statistics concerning events and numerical descriptions of how likely they are to occur. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1; the larger the probability, the more likely an e ...

, and on the

topology Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...

algebraic curve In mathematics, an affine algebraic plane curve is the zero set of a polynomial in two variables. A projective algebraic plane curve is the zero set in a projective plane of a homogeneous polynomial in three variables. An affine algebraic plane cu ...

s and

surfaces A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. Surface or surfaces may also refer to: Mathematics *Surface (mathematics), a generalization of a plane which needs not be flat * Sur ...

Biography

Petrovsky was a student of Dmitri Egorov. Among his students were Olga Ladyzhenskaya,

Evgenii Landis Evgenii Mikhailovich Landis (, ''Yevgeny Mikhaylovich Landis''; 6 October 1921 – 12 December 1997) was a Soviet mathematician who worked mainly on partial differential equations. Life Landis was born in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. H ...

, Olga Oleinik and

Sergei Godunov Sergei Konstantinovich Godunov (; 17 July 1929 – 15 July 2023) was a Soviet and Russian professor at the Sobolev Institute of Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk, Russia. Biography Godunov's most influential work i ...

. Petrovsky taught at

Steklov Institute of Mathematics Steklov Institute of Mathematics or Steklov Mathematical Institute () is a premier research institute based in Moscow, specialized in mathematics, and a part of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The institute is named after Vladimir Andreevich Stek ...

. He was a member of the

Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

since 1946 and was awarded

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

in 1969. He was the president of

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

(1951–1973) and the head of the

International Congress of Mathematicians The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The Fields Medals, the IMU Abacus Medal (known before ...

(

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, 1966). He died in Moscow, and was buried in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Selected publications

*. *. *. * * * *, *. *.

References

*. A very ample paper describing Petrovsky's scientific research, authored by friends, collaborators and pupils. *: the original paper translated in , and also in th
Russian Mathematical Surveys, 1981, 36:1, 1–8
*: an English translation of the paper . * *. An interview with Vladimir Igorevich Arnol'd containing several important historical details about his teachers and other great mathematicians he knew when he was first studying and then working at the

MSU Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics The MSU Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics () is a faculty of Moscow State University. History Although lectures in mathematics had been delivered since Moscow State University was founded in 1755, the mathematical and physical department was ...

, including Ivan Petrowsky. * *. *

External links

* *
Short Biography of Petrowsky
– from the Moscow Mathematical Journal {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrovsky, Ivan 1901 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Russian mathematicians People from Sevsky Uyezd Academic staff of Bauman Moscow State Technical University Academic staff of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Academic staff of Moscow State University Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Rectors of Moscow State University Sixth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Eighth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1955–1959 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1959–1963 Heroes of Socialist Labour Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Stalin Prize Partial differential equation theorists Soviet mathematicians Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Deputies of Mossoviet