Mikhail Kravchuk
Encyclopedia
Mikhail Filippovich Kravchuk, also Krawtchouk (September 27, 1892, Chovnitsy, Volyn Governorate – March 9, 1942, Kolyma
) was a Ukrainian
mathematician
who, despite his early death, was the author of around 180 articles on mathematics.
He primarily wrote papers on differential equations and integral equations, studying both their theory and applications. His two-volume monograph on the solution of linear differential and integral equations by the method of moments was translated circa 1938-1942 by John Vincent Atanasoff
who found this work useful in his computer-project (Atanasoff–Berry Computer).
Kravchuk held a mathematics chair at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute
. His students included Sergey Korolev, Arkhip Lyulka
, and Vladimir Chelomei
, future leading rocket and jet engine designers. Kravchuk was arrested by the Soviet secret police on February 23, 1938 on fabricated political and spying charges. He was sentenced to 20 years of prison in September 1938. Kravchuk died in a Gulag
camp in the Kolyma
region on March 9, 1942.
He was restored as a member of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in 1992. He is the eponym
of the Kravchuk polynomials and Kravchuk matrix.
Kolyma
The Kolyma region is located in the far north-eastern area of Russia in what is commonly known as Siberia but is actually part of the Russian Far East. It is bounded by the East Siberian Sea and the Arctic Ocean in the north and the Sea of Okhotsk to the south...
) was a Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
mathematician
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....
who, despite his early death, was the author of around 180 articles on mathematics.
He primarily wrote papers on differential equations and integral equations, studying both their theory and applications. His two-volume monograph on the solution of linear differential and integral equations by the method of moments was translated circa 1938-1942 by John Vincent Atanasoff
John Vincent Atanasoff
John Vincent Atanasoff was an American physicist and inventor.The 1973 decision of the patent suit Honeywell v. Sperry Rand named him the inventor of the first automatic electronic digital computer...
who found this work useful in his computer-project (Atanasoff–Berry Computer).
Kravchuk held a mathematics chair at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute
Kiev Polytechnic Institute
The National Technical University of Ukraine “Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” is a major university in Kiev, Ukraine.-History:The institute was founded in 1898. At that time it had four departments: Mechanical, Chemical, Agricultural, and Civil Engineering. The first enrolment constituted 360 students...
. His students included Sergey Korolev, Arkhip Lyulka
Arkhip Mikhailovich Lyulka
Arkhip Mikhailovich Lyul'ka , was a Soviet scientist and designer of jet engines of Ukrainian origin, head of the OKB Lyulka, member of the USSR Academy of Sciences....
, and Vladimir Chelomei
Vladimir Chelomei
Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomey was a Soviet mechanics scientist and rocket engineer from Ukraine.-Early life:Chelomey was born in Siedlce, Russian Empire into a Ukrainian family...
, future leading rocket and jet engine designers. Kravchuk was arrested by the Soviet secret police on February 23, 1938 on fabricated political and spying charges. He was sentenced to 20 years of prison in September 1938. Kravchuk died in a Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
camp in the Kolyma
Kolyma
The Kolyma region is located in the far north-eastern area of Russia in what is commonly known as Siberia but is actually part of the Russian Far East. It is bounded by the East Siberian Sea and the Arctic Ocean in the north and the Sea of Okhotsk to the south...
region on March 9, 1942.
He was restored as a member of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in 1992. He is the eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
of the Kravchuk polynomials and Kravchuk matrix.
External links
- MacTutor biography
- Biography page(this uses the transliteration Mikhail Krawtchouk, which is phonetic for Francophones, and under which he published work)
- Ukrainian biographical website
- Krawtchouk Polynomials Home Page
- I. Katchanovski, Krawtchouk's Mind Biographical article
- Video about Mykhailo Pylypovych Kravchuk
- S. Hrabovsy, Mykhailo Kravchuk, a mathematician, patriot and precursor of computers, Welcome to Ukraine, 4, 2003
- N. Virchenko, Life and death of Mykhailo Kravchuk, a brilliant mathematician, Welcome to Ukraine, 2, 2008