Hans Heilbronn
Encyclopedia
Hans Arnold Heilbronn was a mathematician
.
He was born into a German
-Jewish family. He was a student at the universities of Berlin
, Freiburg
and Göttingen
, where he met Edmund Landau
, who supervised his doctorate. In his thesis, he improved a result of Hoheisel
on the size of prime gaps.
Heilbronn fled Germany for Britain in 1933 due to the rise of Nazism
. He arrived in Cambridge
, then found accommodation in Manchester
and eventually was offered a position at Bristol University, where he stayed for about one and a half years. There he proved that the class number of the number field
tends to plus infinity as 
does, as well as, in collaboration with Edward Linfoot
, that there are at most ten quadratic number fields of the form
, 
a natural number, with class number 1. On invitation of Louis Mordell
he moved back to Manchester
in 1934, but left again only one year later, accepting the Bevan Fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge
. In Cambridge Heilbronn published several joint papers with Harold Davenport
, in one of which they devised a new variant of the Hardy-Littlewood circle method
, now sometimes referred to as the Davenport-Heilbronn method, proving that for any indefinite diagonal form
of degree 
in more than 
variables whose coefficients are not all in rational ratio there exists 
in 
such that 
is arbitrarily small. During the Second World War he was briefly interned
as an enemy alien but released to serve in the British Army
. In 1946 he returned to Bristol, becoming Henry Overton Wills Professor of Mathematics. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1951 and was president of the London Mathematical Society
from 1959 to 1961.
Heilbronn and his wife moved to North America in 1964. He stayed at the California Institute of Technology
for a while, then moved on to Toronto
, where he was Professor of Mathematics at the University of Toronto
from 1964 to 1975. He became a Canadian citizen in 1970.
His PhD students include Inder Chowla and Albrecht Fröhlich
.
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....
.
He was born into a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
-Jewish family. He was a student at the universities of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
and Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, where he met Edmund Landau
Edmund Landau
Edmund Georg Hermann Landau was a German Jewish mathematician who worked in the fields of number theory and complex analysis.-Biography:...
, who supervised his doctorate. In his thesis, he improved a result of Hoheisel
Guido Hoheisel
Guido Hoheisel was a German mathematician, a professor of mathematics at the University of Cologne. He did his PhD in 1920 from the University of Berlin under the supervision of Erhard Schmidt....
on the size of prime gaps.
Heilbronn fled Germany for Britain in 1933 due to the rise of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. He arrived in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, then found accommodation in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and eventually was offered a position at Bristol University, where he stayed for about one and a half years. There he proved that the class number of the number field
tends to plus infinity as does, as well as, in collaboration with Edward LinfootEdward Linfoot
Edward Hubert Linfoot was a British mathematician, primarily known for his work on optics, but also noted for his work in pure mathematics.- Early life and career :...
, that there are at most ten quadratic number fields of the form
, a natural number, with class number 1. On invitation of Louis MordellLouis Mordell
Louis Joel Mordell was a British mathematician, known for pioneering research in number theory. He was born in Philadelphia, USA, in a Jewish family of Lithuanian extraction...
he moved back to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1934, but left again only one year later, accepting the Bevan Fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. In Cambridge Heilbronn published several joint papers with Harold Davenport
Harold Davenport
Harold Davenport FRS was an English mathematician, known for his extensive work in number theory.-Early life:...
, in one of which they devised a new variant of the Hardy-Littlewood circle method
Hardy-Littlewood circle method
In mathematics, the Hardy–Littlewood circle method is one of the most frequently used techniques of analytic number theory. It is named for G. H. Hardy and J. E...
, now sometimes referred to as the Davenport-Heilbronn method, proving that for any indefinite diagonal form
of degree in more than variables whose coefficients are not all in rational ratio there exists in such that is arbitrarily small. During the Second World War he was briefly internedInternment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
as an enemy alien but released to serve in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. In 1946 he returned to Bristol, becoming Henry Overton Wills Professor of Mathematics. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1951 and was president of the London Mathematical Society
London Mathematical Society
-See also:* American Mathematical Society* Edinburgh Mathematical Society* European Mathematical Society* List of Mathematical Societies* Council for the Mathematical Sciences* BCS-FACS Specialist Group-External links:* * *...
from 1959 to 1961.
Heilbronn and his wife moved to North America in 1964. He stayed at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
for a while, then moved on to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, where he was Professor of Mathematics at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
from 1964 to 1975. He became a Canadian citizen in 1970.
His PhD students include Inder Chowla and Albrecht Fröhlich
Albrecht Fröhlich
Albrecht Fröhlich FRS was a mathematician famous for his major results and conjectures on Galois module theory in the Galois structure of rings of integers....
.