Marion Kirkland "Kirk" Fort Jr. (1921–1964) 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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

, specializing in

general topology In mathematics, general topology (or point set topology) is the branch of topology that deals with the basic set-theoretic definitions and constructions used in topology. It is the foundation of most other branches of topology, including differ ...

. The

topological space In mathematics, a topological space is, roughly speaking, a Geometry, geometrical space in which Closeness (mathematics), closeness is defined but cannot necessarily be measured by a numeric Distance (mathematics), distance. More specifically, a to ...

s called

Fort space In mathematics, there are a few topological spaces named after M. K. Fort, Jr. Fort space Fort space is defined by taking an infinite set ''X'', with a particular point ''p'' in ''X'', and declaring open the subsets ''A'' of ''X'' such that: * ...

and

Arens–Fort space In mathematics, the Arens–Fort space is a special example in the theory of topological spaces, named for Richard Friederich Arens and M. K. Fort, Jr. Definition The Arens–Fort space is the topological space (X,\tau) where X is the set o ...

are named after him. Fort was born in 1921 in

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 11th ...

, where he graduated with an A.B. from

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

in 1941. He received an M.A. in 1944 from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where he also received his Ph.D. in 1948, advised by Gordon Thomas Whyburn. He was at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

from then until 1953, when he came to the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

(UGA). He later served as head of the UGA mathematics department, 1959–1963. In 1963 Fort became the first holder of the university's David C. Barrow Chair of Mathematics. He died in 1964 during a

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they ar ...

at the

Institute for Defense Analyses The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is an American non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) – the Systems and Analyses Center (SAC), Science and Technology Policy Institute, t ...

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

References

1921 births 1964 deaths People from Spartanburg, South Carolina American topologists Wofford College alumni University of Virginia alumni University of Georgia faculty University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty 20th-century American mathematicians Mathematicians from South Carolina {{US-mathematician-stub