Mkhitar Djrbashian
Encyclopedia
Mkhitar Djrbashian was a notable Armenian
mathematician
, who made significant contributions to the constructive theory of functions, harmonic analysis
, theory of analytic functions and a fundamental contribution to the classical theory of univalent analytic functions. He was born in Yerevan
in a family of refugees from the town Van of Western Armenia
escaping from the Armenian Genocide
of 1915 in Turkey
. Mkhitar Djrbashian created some well-known mathematical theories (see, e.g.
) and did everything possible for the development of Armenian Mathematical School to the high international standards in many branches of mathematics.
arose, by a successful merchant who returned to his fatherland from Iran
and bought a piece of land in Aygestan (Armenian: Այգեստան, i.e. gardens) district of the town Van. The community water source was in his land, and his family got the obligation to justly distribute the scarce water among the channels to Aygestan gardens for many centuries, according to quotas established by the community. This gave rise to the family name Jerbashkhian (Armenian: Ջրբաշխյան, i.e. water distributor). Mkhitar Djrbashian's father Mkrtich was one of the 7 founders of Van Guild of Merchants which foresaw the possibility of Turkish military actions against the civilian population of their town and started to reserve weapons for self-defense. In June, 1915 he participated as a soldier in people's volunteer corps against Turkish regular army sent to murder all inhabitants of the Armenian town Van and surrounding villages. Thanks to an attack of Russian Army
, the inhabitants of Van and some of villagers of the Vaspurakan
Province were saved and then migrated with the Russian Army to Erivan Governorate
of Russian Empire
: an eastern part of Armenia. In the first years under communists, Mkrtich Jerbashkhian continued importing European goods and selling them in the shops of his commercial company in Yerevan, Tiflis (renamed Tbilisi by communists) and Baku
. For this reason, he was deprived of voting right in the USSR, and because of this his elder son Mkhitar was excluded from the last year of the school. Other branches of Jerbashkhian family also were forced to leave their fatherland. Some of them migrated to Yerevan
and Tiflis, others appeared as refugees in Marseille
.
Mkhitar Djrbashian's father Mkrtich Jerbashkhian kept secret his fluency in French and German languages and his political views to avoid NKVD
repressions.
Mkhitar Jerbashkhian had two sisters: Sirvard (1904–1990) and Gohar (1921–2000), and a brother Eduard Jerbashkhian (1923–1999), a literary critic, Real Member of Armenian National Academy of Sciences (1982) and the Director of Institute of Literature of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences from 1977 to 1999. The family name Jerbashkhian later was simplified to Jerbashian, and in accordance with the Russian spelling is given as Dzhrbashjan or Djrbashian in many mathematical publications.
in Yerevan, he accomplished his school education in Tiflis in 1936, thanks to the assistance of his uncle's family. Back in Yerevan after Stalin's declaration that ``children are not responsible for their parents", Mkhitar Djrbashian could enroll in Yerevan State University
, where his scientific activities were encouraged by Prof. Artashes Shahinian, a talented teacher who directed his pupils mainly to Approximation theory
.
Mkhitar Djrbashian was greatly influenced by the results of Rolf Nevanlinna
in Complex Analysis
, which he studied attending lectures delivered by Mstislav Keldysh
at Yerevan State University in 1944. This directed his scientific research to the field of Complex Analysis
.
Under the supervision of Prof. Artashes Shahinian, Mkhitar Djrbashian was the first to defend a Candidate of Sciences Thesis in mathematics at Yerevan State University in 1945, with some new, original results on weighted Nevanlinna classes of meromorphic functions (see Section 216 in ). In 1949 Mkhitar Djrbashian defended his Doctor of Science
Thesis in Moscow State University
with excellent references from Prof. Mstislav Keldysh
, Prof. Alexander Gelfond
and Prof. Alexei Markushevich :ru:Маркушевич, Алексей Иванович.
Being the leading figure in the mathematics of Armenia, a Full Member of Armenian Academy of Sciences form 1956, Mkhitar Djrbashian did everything possible for the development of Armenian Mathematical School to the high international standards in many branches of mathematics. He was the founder and the Director of Institute of Mathematics of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
(1971–1989), then the Honorary Director of the same institute up to his death on May 6, 1994 of heart attack. He was the founder of Izvestiya Natsionalnoi Akademii Nauk Armenii, Matematika (English translation: Journal of Contemporary Mathematical Analysis, Armenian Academy of Sciences, Allerton Press Inc.) http://www.allertonpress.com/journals/sam.htm and its Editor in Chief (1971–1994), the Dean of the Physical-Mathematical and then Mechanical-Mathematical Department of Yerevan State University
(1957–1960), and the Head of the Chair of Function Theory (1978–1986).
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
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 made significant contributions to the constructive theory of functions, harmonic analysis
Harmonic analysis
Harmonic analysis is the branch of mathematics that studies the representation of functions or signals as the superposition of basic waves. It investigates and generalizes the notions of Fourier series and Fourier transforms...
, theory of analytic functions and a fundamental contribution to the classical theory of univalent analytic functions. He was born in Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
in a family of refugees from the town Van of Western Armenia
Western Armenia
Western Armenia is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire and now are part of the Republic of Turkey....
escaping from the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
of 1915 in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Mkhitar Djrbashian created some well-known mathematical theories (see, e.g.
) and did everything possible for the development of Armenian Mathematical School to the high international standards in many branches of mathematics.
Family
Djrbashian was born to an old Van family, established before 14th century, long before Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
arose, by a successful merchant who returned to his fatherland from Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and bought a piece of land in Aygestan (Armenian: Այգեստան, i.e. gardens) district of the town Van. The community water source was in his land, and his family got the obligation to justly distribute the scarce water among the channels to Aygestan gardens for many centuries, according to quotas established by the community. This gave rise to the family name Jerbashkhian (Armenian: Ջրբաշխյան, i.e. water distributor). Mkhitar Djrbashian's father Mkrtich was one of the 7 founders of Van Guild of Merchants which foresaw the possibility of Turkish military actions against the civilian population of their town and started to reserve weapons for self-defense. In June, 1915 he participated as a soldier in people's volunteer corps against Turkish regular army sent to murder all inhabitants of the Armenian town Van and surrounding villages. Thanks to an attack of Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
, the inhabitants of Van and some of villagers of the Vaspurakan
Vaspurakan
Vaspurakan was the first and biggest province of Greater Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered around Lake Van...
Province were saved and then migrated with the Russian Army to Erivan Governorate
Erivan Governorate
Erivan Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Erivan . Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometres. It roughly corresponded to what is now most of central Armenia, the Iğdır Province of Turkey, and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave...
of Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
: an eastern part of Armenia. In the first years under communists, Mkrtich Jerbashkhian continued importing European goods and selling them in the shops of his commercial company in Yerevan, Tiflis (renamed Tbilisi by communists) and Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
. For this reason, he was deprived of voting right in the USSR, and because of this his elder son Mkhitar was excluded from the last year of the school. Other branches of Jerbashkhian family also were forced to leave their fatherland. Some of them migrated to Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
and Tiflis, others appeared as refugees in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
.
Mkhitar Djrbashian's father Mkrtich Jerbashkhian kept secret his fluency in French and German languages and his political views to avoid NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
repressions.
Mkhitar Jerbashkhian had two sisters: Sirvard (1904–1990) and Gohar (1921–2000), and a brother Eduard Jerbashkhian (1923–1999), a literary critic, Real Member of Armenian National Academy of Sciences (1982) and the Director of Institute of Literature of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences from 1977 to 1999. The family name Jerbashkhian later was simplified to Jerbashian, and in accordance with the Russian spelling is given as Dzhrbashjan or Djrbashian in many mathematical publications.
Biography
Mkhitar Djrbashian was born in Yerevan on September 11, 1918. Being deprived of continuing his secondary educationEducation in the Soviet Union
Education in the Soviet Union was organized in a highly centralized government-run system. Its advantages were total access for all citizens and post-education employment...
in Yerevan, he accomplished his school education in Tiflis in 1936, thanks to the assistance of his uncle's family. Back in Yerevan after Stalin's declaration that ``children are not responsible for their parents", Mkhitar Djrbashian could enroll in Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University is a university in Yerevan, Armenia. Founded on May 16 1919, it is the largest university in the country with 110 departments. Of its 3,150 employees, 1,190 comprise the teaching staff which includes 25 academicians, 130 professors, 700 docents , and 360 assistant lecturers...
, where his scientific activities were encouraged by Prof. Artashes Shahinian, a talented teacher who directed his pupils mainly to Approximation theory
Approximation theory
In mathematics, approximation theory is concerned with how functions can best be approximated with simpler functions, and with quantitatively characterizing the errors introduced thereby...
.
Mkhitar Djrbashian was greatly influenced by the results of Rolf Nevanlinna
Rolf Nevanlinna
Rolf Herman Nevanlinna was one of the most famous Finnish mathematicians. He was particularly appreciated for his work in complex analysis.- The Nevanlinna family :...
in Complex Analysis
Complex analysis
Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is useful in many branches of mathematics, including number theory and applied mathematics; as well as in physics,...
, which he studied attending lectures delivered by Mstislav Keldysh
Mstislav Keldysh
Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh was a Soviet scientist in the field of mathematics and mechanics, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences , President of the USSR Academy of Sciences , three times Hero of Socialist Labor , fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . He was one of the key figures...
at Yerevan State University in 1944. This directed his scientific research to the field of Complex Analysis
Complex analysis
Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is useful in many branches of mathematics, including number theory and applied mathematics; as well as in physics,...
.
Under the supervision of Prof. Artashes Shahinian, Mkhitar Djrbashian was the first to defend a Candidate of Sciences Thesis in mathematics at Yerevan State University in 1945, with some new, original results on weighted Nevanlinna classes of meromorphic functions (see Section 216 in ). In 1949 Mkhitar Djrbashian defended his Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
Thesis in Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
with excellent references from Prof. Mstislav Keldysh
Mstislav Keldysh
Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh was a Soviet scientist in the field of mathematics and mechanics, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences , President of the USSR Academy of Sciences , three times Hero of Socialist Labor , fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . He was one of the key figures...
, Prof. Alexander Gelfond
Alexander Gelfond
Alexander Osipovich Gelfond was a Soviet mathematician, author of Gelfond's theorem.-Biography:Alexander Gelfond was born in St Petersburg, Russian Empire in the family of a professional physician and amateur philosopher Osip Isaakovich Gelfond. He entered the Moscow State University in 1924,...
and Prof. Alexei Markushevich :ru:Маркушевич, Алексей Иванович.
Being the leading figure in the mathematics of Armenia, a Full Member of Armenian Academy of Sciences form 1956, Mkhitar Djrbashian did everything possible for the development of Armenian Mathematical School to the high international standards in many branches of mathematics. He was the founder and the Director of Institute of Mathematics of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
Institute of Mathematics of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
The Institute of Mathematics of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia originated as the Section for Mathematics and Mechanics, created within the newly formed Armenian Academy of Sciences in 1944...
(1971–1989), then the Honorary Director of the same institute up to his death on May 6, 1994 of heart attack. He was the founder of Izvestiya Natsionalnoi Akademii Nauk Armenii, Matematika (English translation: Journal of Contemporary Mathematical Analysis, Armenian Academy of Sciences, Allerton Press Inc.) http://www.allertonpress.com/journals/sam.htm and its Editor in Chief (1971–1994), the Dean of the Physical-Mathematical and then Mechanical-Mathematical Department of Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University is a university in Yerevan, Armenia. Founded on May 16 1919, it is the largest university in the country with 110 departments. Of its 3,150 employees, 1,190 comprise the teaching staff which includes 25 academicians, 130 professors, 700 docents , and 360 assistant lecturers...
(1957–1960), and the Head of the Chair of Function Theory (1978–1986).
External links
- Mkhitar Djrbashian at Math Genealogy Project
- Mkhitar Djrbashian at MathSciNet
- Mkhitar Djrbashian at National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
- Mkhitar Djrbashian's 90th anniversary