Person: Behrend, Felix Adalbert

Felix Adalbert Behrend was a German mathematician who worked in combinatorics, number theory and topology.

Felix W Behrend had a doctorate and was a mathematics and physics teacher at the Herderschule in Berlin.
His son, Felix Junior, also attended the Herderschule in Berlin, showing exceptional talents not only for mathematics but also creative writing.
Behrend studied number theory for his doctorate at the University of Berlin with Erhard Schmidt as his advisor.
Of course 1933, the year that Behrend was awarded his doctorate, was also the year that Hitler came to power in Germany.
After the award of his doctorate Behrend decided to leave Germany and continue his studies away from Nazi influence.
After his release in 1942, Behrend was appointed as a tutor at the University of Melbourne.
Behrend was promoted to lecturer in the Mathematics Department of the University of Melbourne in 1943, then to senior lecturer in 1948, and finally to associate professor 1954-62.
In A contribution to the theory of magnitudes and the foundations of analysis (1956) Behrend characterised the additive semigroup of positive real numbers, the "magnitudes" of the title.
Behrend is commemorated by the 'Behrend memorial lecture in mathematics', established at the University of Melbourne in 1963 with funds provided by his widow.

Born 23 April 1911, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany. Died 27 May 1962, Richmond, Victoria, Australia.

View full biography at MacTutor

Origin Germany

Thank you to the contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0!

O’Connor, John J; Robertson, Edmund F: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive