David G. Schaeffer

Schaeffer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 6, 1942, the son of John Schaeffer and Gertrude Berdard.^[1] He attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, earning his BS degree in 1963. He also attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning his PhD degree in mathematics in 1968.^[2][3]

Schaeffer served as a professor in the department of mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1970 to 1978.^[4] He then served as a professor in the same department at Duke University from 1978 to 2012. During his years as a professor, in 1990, he was named the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Mathematics.^[5][6]

In 1982, Schaeffer married Jennie Mae Guffey. Their marriage ended in divorce.^[7]

Schaeffer died of a brain tumor at the Carol Woods Retirement Community in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on March 20, 2026, at the age of 83.^[5]