Fields

John Charles Fields

Born: 14 May 1863 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Died: 9 Aug 1932 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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After a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins Fields studied in Europe with Fuchs, Frobenius, Hensel, Schwarz and Planck. From 1902 Fields was a lecturer at Toronto where he remained until his death. His main research was on algebraic functions.

However Fields is best remembered for conceiving the idea of and for providing funds for an international medal for mathematical distinction. Adopted at the International Congress of Mathematicians at Zurich in 1932, the first medals were awarded at the Oslo Congress of 1936. They are awarded to no fewer than two and no more than four mathematicians under 40 years of age every four years at the International Congress of Mathematicians.

Other Web sites:

Toronto, Canada

More details of the Fields medals (including a list of recipients) are available at Waterloo, Canada
It has been alleged that the fact that there is no Nobel prize in mathematics may have something to do with Mittag-Leffler. However, see the Web site at Waterloo, Canada for further information.

References:

  1. Dictionary of Scientific Biography
  2. J L Synge, Obituary Notice of John Charles Fields, Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society of London 2 (1933), 129-135.
  3. H S Tropp, The origins and history of the Fields Medal, Historia Mathematica 3 (1976), 167-181. 
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JOC/EFR March 1996