Andrea Razmadze
Georgian mathematician (1889–1929)
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Andrea Mikhailovich Razmadze (sometimes spelled Andria/Andrei Razmadze, 12 August 1889 – 2 October 1929[1]) was a Georgian mathematician, and one of the founders of Tbilisi State University, whose Mathematics Institute was renamed in his honor in 1944.[2] The department's scientific journal, published continuously since 1937, was also renamed as the Proceedings of A. Razmadze Mathematical Institute in his honor.
Andrea Mikhailovich Razmadze | |
|---|---|
ანდრია რაზმაძე | |
Andrea Razmadze | |
| Born | 12 August 1889[1] |
| Died | 2 October 1929 (aged 40)[1] |
| Education | Moscow University |
| Known for | Calculus of Variations |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Tbilisi University |
Biography
Andrea Razmadze was the son of Mikhail Gavrilovich Razmadze, a railway worker, and Nino Georgievna Nodia.[3] He graduated from Kutaisi nonclassical secondary school in 1906 (where Public School #41 has been renamed for him[4]), then studied at Moscow University, earning a Diploma in 1910, and then a Masters in 1917 while teaching at local classical and secondary schools.[5] At the invitation of the university, he briefly stayed in Moscow University to teach mathematics in 1917,[6] but soon left to become one of the founders of Tbilisi University.[7] Though he died just 11 years later, during his time there he greatly expanded Georgian mathematical terminology by publishing three textbooks in that language,[3] and insisting that all courses be taught in Georgian, an approach that attracted renowned mathematician Nikoloz Muskhelishvili to the school.[8] He also founded the Georgian Mathematical Union on 21 February 1923 and was its first president; this institution lapsed on his death, but was reorganized from 1962 to the present.[9] He is most famous for his work in the calculus of variations, where he discovered an efficient method for finding the extrema of integral functions, and a comprehensive theory for finding the extrema of discontinuous ("angular") functions that can be represented by a finite number of curves.[3] He presented this last result at the 1924 International Congress of Mathematicians in Toronto,[10] for which he was awarded a Sc.D. by the Sorbonne.[5] He also delivered lectures in Jacques Hadamard's famous seminar series in Paris, along with such notables as Paul Lévy, Laurent Schwartz, and Nobel laureates Louis de Broglie and Max Born.[11]
External links
- Razmadze's biography on MacTutor.
- The website of the Georgian Mathematical Union.