Hodge

William Vallance Douglas Hodge

Born: 17 June 1903 in Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: 7 July 1975 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England

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Hodge was a student at Edinburgh in Scotland and was taught by Whittaker and advised by him to study at Cambridge. His main interests were in algebraic geometry and differential geometry. In 1930 he applied ideas of Lefschetz to solve a problem posed by Severi.

Hodge developed the relationship between geometry, analysis and topology and is best remembered for his theory of harmonic integrals. He held a chair at Cambridge from 1936 to 1970. He was one of the originators of the British Mathematical Colloquium, an annual conference which visits different British universities.

He also played a major role in setting up the International Mathematical Union in 1952. He received the Royal Medal of the Royal Society in 1957 and was knighted in 1959.

References:

  1. Dictionary of Scientific Biography
  2. M F Atiyah, William Vallance Douglas Hodge, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society of London 22 (1976), 169-192.
  3. M F Atiyah, William Vallance Douglas Hodge, Bull. London Math. Soc. 9 (1977), 99-118.
  4. Obituary, Yearbook of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Session 1974-75 (1976), 47-52.
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