Andrew Gleason
Encyclopedia
Andrew Mattei Gleason was an American mathematician
and the eponym of Gleason's theorem
and the Greenwood–Gleason graph. After briefly attending Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) he graduated from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, then Yale University
in 1942, where he became a Putnam Fellow. He subsequently joined the United States Navy
, where he was part of a team responsible for breaking Japan
ese codes during World War II
. He was appointed a Junior Fellow
at Harvard
in 1946, and later joined the faculty there where he was the Hollis Professor of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy. He had the rare distinction among Harvard professors of having never obtained a doctorate. He retired in 1992. He is well-known for his work on Hilbert's fifth problem
.
Professor Gleason was awarded the Newcomb Cleveland Prize
in 1952 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
. In 1996 the Mathematics Association of America awarded him the Yueh-Gin Gung & Dr. Charles Y. Hu Prize for distinguished service to mathematics.
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and the eponym of Gleason's theorem
Gleason's theorem
Gleason's theorem, named after Andrew Gleason, is a mathematical result of particular importance for quantum logic. It proves that the Born rule for the probability of obtaining specific results to a given measurement, follows naturally from the structure formed by the lattice of events in a real...
and the Greenwood–Gleason graph. After briefly attending Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) he graduated from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, then Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1942, where he became a Putnam Fellow. He subsequently joined the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, where he was part of a team responsible for breaking Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese codes during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was appointed a Junior Fellow
Harvard Society of Fellows
The Harvard Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginning of their careers by Harvard University for extraordinary scholarly potential, upon whom distinctive academic and intellectual opportunities are bestowed in order to foster their individual growth and intellectual...
at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1946, and later joined the faculty there where he was the Hollis Professor of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy. He had the rare distinction among Harvard professors of having never obtained a doctorate. He retired in 1992. He is well-known for his work on Hilbert's fifth problem
Hilbert's fifth problem
Hilbert's fifth problem, is the fifth mathematical problem from the problem-list publicized in 1900 by mathematician David Hilbert, and concerns the characterization of Lie groups. The theory of Lie groups describes continuous symmetry in mathematics; its importance there and in theoretical physics...
.
Professor Gleason was awarded the Newcomb Cleveland Prize
Newcomb Cleveland Prize
The Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is annually awarded to author of outstanding scientific paper published in the Research Articles or Reports sections of Science...
in 1952 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
. In 1996 the Mathematics Association of America awarded him the Yueh-Gin Gung & Dr. Charles Y. Hu Prize for distinguished service to mathematics.
Selected publications
- One-parameter subgroups and Hilbert's fifth problem, pp. 451–452, vol. 2, Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1950 (pub. Providence, Rhode Island: American Mathematical Society, 1952.)
- Measures on the closed subspaces of a Hilbert space, Journal of Mathematics and Mechanics 6 (1957), pp. 885–893.
- Projective topological spaces, Illinois Journal of Mathematics 2 (1958), pp. 482–489.
- Fundamentals of abstract analysis, Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1966; corrected reprint, Boston: Jones and Bartlett, 1991.
External links
- Debra Bradley Rudar (1996) Symposium celebrating Gleason and Society of Fellows, Harvard University Gazette.