Birkhoff, George David

Birkhoff, George David, 1884–1944, American mathematician, b. Overisel, Mich.; father of Garrett Birkhoff. The son of a physician, he was educated at Harvard (B.A., 1905) and the Univ. of Chicago (Ph.D., 1907) After teaching shortly at Chicago and Princeton, he joined the faculty at Harvard (1912) where he taught until his death. Birkhoff, perhaps the first American mathematician of international repute, is known for his work on linear differential equations and difference equations. He was also deeply interested in and made contributions to the analysis of dynamical systems, celestial mechanics, the four-color map problem, and function spaces. In addition he wrote on the foundations of relativity and quantum mechanics and on art and music, e.g., Aesthetic Measure (1933).

Bibliography

See his Collected Mathematical Papers (3 vol., 1950).

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Birkhoff, George David (1884–1944) mathematician; born in Oversiel, Mich. A noted Harvard teacher (1912–39) and president of the American Mathematical Society (1925), he focused on differential equations and celestial mechanics, proving Poincare's "last geometric theorem." He also launched a new era in the theory of dynamical systems, stimulating major advances in topology and global analysis. His geometry work remains standard for today's high school students, and a lifelong interest in music and the arts culminated in his book Aesthetic Measure (1933).