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Irving KaplanskyCanadian and American mathematician.
Date of Birth: 23.03.1917
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Academic Career
- University of Chicago
- Later Career and Legacy
- Mathematical Contributions
- Personal Life
- Death
Early Life and Education
Irving Kaplansky was born on March 22, 1917, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, to Polish Jewish immigrants Samuel and Anna Kaplansky. His father had studied to be a rabbi in Poland but worked as a tailor in Canada, while his mother ran a grocery store and later owned a chain of bakeries, Health Bread Bakeries.
Academic Career
University of Toronto and Harvard UniversityKaplansky attended the University of Toronto, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in 1938 and receiving the inaugural Putnam Scholarship for graduate study at Harvard University. He earned a Master's degree from Toronto in 1940 and completed his Ph.D. at Harvard in 1941, under the supervision of Saunders Mac Lane.
University of Chicago
After holding a temporary position at Harvard, Kaplansky joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 1945, where he remained until his retirement in 1984. He served as Chair of the Department of Mathematics from 1962 to 1967 and supervised 55 PhD students during his tenure.
Later Career and Legacy
From 1984 to 1992, Kaplansky served as Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI). He was also heavily involved in the American Mathematical Society, holding various editorial and leadership positions, including President in 1985-1986. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an Honorary Fellow of the London Mathematical Society. In 1989, he was awarded the Steele Prize.
Mathematical Contributions
Kaplansky's mathematical contributions focused primarily on algebra, including commutative and homological algebra, ring theory, group theory, and Lie algebras, as well as quadratic and higher-order forms. He made significant contributions to the algebraic formulation of functional analysis, with his Kaplansky Density Theorem being a notable achievement.
Personal Life
Kaplansky married Rose Halprin and had two children: David and Lucy. Lucy Kaplansky (born 1960) is an American folk singer. Music was a hobby for Kaplansky, who played the piano and wrote lyrics. He is best known for his "Song of Pi".
Death
Irving Kaplansky passed away on June 25, 2001, in Berkeley, California.
