Constantin Carathรฉodory - Mathematics and Politics in Turbulent Times is the biography of a mathematician, born in Berlin in 1873, who became famous during his life time, but has hitherto been ignored by historians for half a century since his death in 1950, in Munich. In a thought-provoking approach, Maria Georgiadou devotes to Constantin Carathรฉodory all the attention such a personality deserves. With breathtaking detail and the appropriate scrutiny she elucidates his oeuvre, life and turbulent political and historical surroundings. A descendant of the the Greek รฉlite of Constantinople, Carathรฉodory graduated from the military school of Brussels, became engineer at the Assiout dam in Egypt and finally dedicated a life of effort to mathematics and education. He studied and embarked on an international academic career, haunted by wars, catastrophes and personal tragedies. Over the last years of his life, he stayed in Munich despite World War II, an ambiguous decision upon which the author sheds unprecedented light. Carathรฉodory's most significant mathematical contributions were to the calculus of variations, the theory of point set measure and the theory of functions of a real variable, pde's, also to complex function theory. The interdisciplinary nature of the text allows easy access for both scholars and readers with a general interest in mathematics, politics and history. The thoroughness of the author's research and evaluations is certain to leave everyone impressed and more knowledgeable.
CONTENT
1 Origin and Formative Years -- Chapterchapter 2 Academic Career in Germany -- 3 The Asia-Minor Project -- 4 A Scholar of World Reputation -- 5 National Socialism and War -- 6 The Final Years -- Epilogue -- Appendix I Some Explanations concerning the Text -- Appendix II A Short Biographical Sketch of the Carathรฉodory Family -- Appendix III Chronology -- Appendix IV Carathรฉodory's Fields of Study and Contributions bearing his Name -- Appendix V A List of Carathรฉodory's Students -- Notes -- Bibliography 601 -- Name Index -- Geographic Index -- Index of Mathematical and Physical Subjects -- Index of Academic Organisations and Institutions -- Some Views of Munich and Ludwig-Maximilian University
