Simion Stoilow or Stoilov ( – 4 April 1961) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

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 ...

, creator of the Romanian school of

complex analysis Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is helpful in many branches of mathematics, including algebraic ...

, and author of over 100 publications.

Biography

He was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, and grew up in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

. His father, Colonel Simion Stoilow, fought at the in the

Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence () is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the phase of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), in which Romania, fighting on the Russian side of the war, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On ...

. After studying at the Obedeanu elementary school and the Carol I High School, Stoilow went in 1907 to the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, where he earned a B.S. degree in 1910 and a Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1916. His doctoral dissertation was written under the direction of

Émile Picard Charles Émile Picard (; 24 July 1856 – 11 December 1941) was a French mathematician. He was elected the fifteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the Académie française in 1924. Life He was born in Paris on 24 July 1856 and educated there at th ...

. He returned to Romania in 1916 to fight in the Romanian Campaign of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, first in

Dobrudja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...

, then in

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

. After the war, he became professor of mathematics at the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...

(1919–1921) and the University of Cernăuți (1921–1939). He was an Invited Speaker 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 ...

in 1920 at

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, in 1928 at

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, and in 1936 at

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. In 1928 he was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, Officer rank. In 1939 he moved to Bucharest, working first at the

Polytechnic University of Bucharest Politehnica University of Bucharest () is a technical university in Bucharest, Romania founded in 1818.University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, serving as rector from 1944 to 1946 and as dean of the Faculties of Mathematics and Physics from 1948 to 1951. From 1946 to 1948, he served as Romanian

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1946 he was a member of the Romanian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference, headed by Gheorghe Tătărescu. In July 1947 he organized at Club de Chaillot the exhibit "L'art français au secours des enfants roumains";

Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter, and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century and a pioneer of modernism ...

participated,

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, c ...

and Jean Cassou wrote the preface to the catalogue. In 1946 he was awarded the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

, Grand Officer rank and in 1948, the

Order of the Star of the Romanian People's Republic The Order of the Star of the Socialist Republic of Romania (), from 1948 to 1965 the Order of the Star of the Romanian People's Republic (), was the second-highest honor bestowed by the Socialist Republic of Romania (known as the Socialist Republic ...

, Second class. Stoilow was elected corresponding member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

in 1936, and full member in 1945, and later became president of the Physics and Mathematics section of the Academy. In 1949 he was the founding director of the

Institute of Mathematics of the Romanian Academy The "Simion Stoilow" Institute of Mathematics of the Romanian Academy is a research institute in Bucharest, Romania. It is affiliated with the Romanian Academy, and it is named after Simion Stoilow, one of its founders. History On December ...

, serving in that capacity until he died. Among his students at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

and at the Institute were Cabiria Andreian Cazacu, Romulus Cristescu, Martin Jurchescu, Ionel Bucur, and Aristide Deleanu, as well as Nicolae Boboc, Corneliu Constantinescu, and Aurel Cornea. Some of the first Romanian topologists who obtained their candidate’s theses were Stoilow’s students Tudor Ganea, , ,

Valentin Poénaru Valentin Alexandre Poénaru (born 1932 in Bucharest) is a Romanian– French mathematician. He was a Professor of Mathematics at University of Paris-Sud, specializing in low-dimensional topology. Life and career Born in Bucharest, Romania, he d ...

, and . In 1952, Stoilow was awarded the

, First class. Stoilow died in Bucharest in 1961 of a brain stroke. He was cremated at the ''Cenușa'' crematorium. Prior to the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...

of 1989, his funeral

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...

was maintained in a

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

at the

Carol Park Carol I Park () is a public park in Bucharest, Romania, named after King Carol I of Romania. A French garden located in the southern-central area of Bucharest, partly on Filaret Hill, originally capable of hosting various exhibitions, it suffer ...

Mausoleum.

Legacy

The

(closed in 1975 by a decree of

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...

, reopened in the immediate aftermath of the 1989 Revolution), is now named after him. The '' Simion Stoilow Prize'' is awarded every year by the

Work

* * * Simion Stoïlow, "Leçons sur les principes topologiques de la théorie des fonctions analytiques", Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1956. * Simion Stoïlow, "Œuvre mathématique", Éditions de l'Académie de la République Populaire Roumaine, Bucharest, 1964.

References

* Cabiria Andreian Cazacu, "Sur l'œuvre mathématique de Simion Stoïlow", pp. 8–21,

Lecture Notes in Mathematics ''Lecture Notes in Mathematics'' is a book series in the field of mathematics, including articles related to both research and teaching. It was established in 1964 and was edited by A. Dold, Heidelberg and B. Eckmann, Zürich. Its publisher is Sp ...

, vol. 1013,

Springer-Verlag Springer Science+Business Media, commonly known as Springer, is a German multinational publishing company of books, e-books and peer-reviewed journals in science, humanities, technical and medical (STM) publishing. Originally founded in 1842 in ...

, Berlin, 1983. * "Analysis and Topology: A Volume Dedicated to the Memory of S. Stoilow", edited by Cabiria Andreian Cazacu, Olli Lehto, and Themistocles M. Rassias, World Scientific Publishers, 1998.

External links

Short biography

at Obedeanu school {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoilow, Simion 1887 births 1961 deaths Scientists from Bucharest Carol I National College alumni University of Paris alumni Romanian military personnel of World War I 20th-century Romanian mathematicians Romanian expatriates in France Mathematical analysts Titular members of the Romanian Academy Rectors of the University of Bucharest Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Academic staff of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Academic staff of the Politehnica University of Bucharest Academic staff of Chernivtsi University Romanian university and college faculty deans Ambassadors of Romania to France Romanian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of 1946 Recipients of the Order of the Star of the Romanian Socialist Republic Grand Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania Officers of the Legion of Honour