Person: Mazur, Stanislaw Meiczyslaw
Stanislaw Mazur was a Polish mathematician (born in what is now Ukraine) who worked in functional analysis, summability theory, infinite games and computable functions.
Mathematical Profile (Excerpt):
- Mazur wrote his first paper while still an undergraduate and he submitted it to Steinhaus.
- The paper was to be read by Mazur at a meeting of the Lwów Scientific Society but only hours before the meeting Steinhaus summoned Mazur to tell him that he had handed him four blank sheets of paper.
- Students could only afford cheap quality yellow paper and Mazur had diluted his ink with water to make it last longer.
- There is no record of whether Mazur took Steinhaus's advice, but he certainly devoted himself to mathematical pursuits.
- Mazur was a close collaborator with Banach at Lwów and became a member of the Lwów School of Mathematics, a group of about a dozen mathematicians working in functional analysis, real functions and probability theory.
- The collaboration between Mazur and Banach in Lwów was important for both men.
- There is no doubt that of all Banach's colleagues in Lwów, Mazur was the one closest to him.
- If they were not polished or even not quite correct, Mazur would frequently put them into a more satisfactory form.
- Mazur contributed 24 problems to the book with himself as the sole author, and a further 19 problems jointly contributed with others such as Banach.
- It was not only Banach with who Mazur collaborated but others including Ulam.
- During the 1930s Mazur was an active member of the Polish Communist Party.
- Mazur's habilitation thesis was submitted in 1936.
- After the award of his habilitation, Mazur taught at Lwów until 1946.
- Mazur said "The possibility of a World War is real.
- There is a charming story about one of the most famous of the problems in the Scottish Book which was posed by Mazur.
- This was problem number 153, which Mazur inserted into the Book on 6 November 1936.
- Prizes offered included wine, spirits, or a meal in Cambridge but Mazur offered a live goose as the prize for this particular problem.
- Then, given his earlier involvement with the Polish Communist Party, Mazur became a high official in the science establishment.
- Mazur made important contributions to geometrical methods in linear and non-linear functional analysis and to the study of Banach algebras.
- The mean ergodic theorem in Banach spaces was announced by Mazur in 1932 but a proof does not appear in print until 1938 when Yosida and by Kakutani published the result.
- For example, the weak-basis theorem, due to Mazur, is given by Banach in his book but no proof appears.
- In 1978 Mazur was honoured by receiving honorary life membership in the Polish Mathematical Society.
- In 1980 the University of Warsaw awarded Mazur an honorary doctorate.
- In his speech Mazur concentrated on his activities at the University of Lwów during World War II.
Born 1 January 1905, Lemberg, Austrian Empire (now Lviv, Ukraine). Died 5 November 1981, Warsaw, Poland.
View full biography at MacTutor
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Origin Ukraine
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References
Adapted from other CC BY-SA 4.0 Sources:
- O’Connor, John J; Robertson, Edmund F: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
