Børge Jessen
Encyclopedia
Børge Christian Jessen was a Danish
mathematician
best known for his work in analysis
, specifically on zeta function, and in geometry
, specifically on Hilbert's third problem
.
Jessen was born and grew up at Copenhagen
. He attended the Skt. Jørgens Gymnasium
where he was taught by the Hungarian mathematician Julius Pal. He was a student of Harald Bohr
at University of Copenhagen
. Supported by the Carlsberg Foundation
he spent the Fall of 1929 in Szeged
, Hungary
where he attended lectures by Frigyes Riesz
and Alfréd Haar
. He then spent the winter semester at Göttingen taking lectures of David Hilbert
and Edmund Landau
. He then returned to Copenhagen and defended his dissertation on May 1, 1930, results of which were later published in Acta Mathematica
. In the early 1930s he continued to frequently travel visiting Paris
, Cambridge, England, Institute for Advanced Study
, Yale
and Harvard University
in America.
Jessen was a professor of descriptive geometry at Technical University of Denmark
from 1935 till 1942, when he moved back to the University of Copenhagen
where he was professor from 1942-1977 when he retired. He was the president of the Carlsberg Foundation
in 1955-1963 and one of the founders of the Hans Christian Ørsted Institute
. He was the Secretary of the Interim Executive Committee of the International Mathematical Union
(1950–1952) and in September 1951 officially declared founding of the Union, with its first domicile
in Copenhagen. He was also active at the Danish Mathematical Society
. After his death, the society named an award in his honor (Børge Jessen Diploma Award).
In his private life his was married to Ellen (-1979), daughter of professor P.O. Pedersen, also cand. mag. in mathematics.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
best known for his work in analysis
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical analysis, which mathematicians refer to simply as analysis, has its beginnings in the rigorous formulation of infinitesimal calculus. It is a branch of pure mathematics that includes the theories of differentiation, integration and measure, limits, infinite series, and analytic functions...
, specifically on zeta function, and in geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
, specifically on Hilbert's third problem
Hilbert's third problem
The third on Hilbert's list of mathematical problems, presented in 1900, is the easiest one. The problem is related to the following question: given any two polyhedra of equal volume, is it always possible to cut the first into finitely many polyhedral pieces which can be reassembled to yield the...
.
Jessen was born and grew up at Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. He attended the Skt. Jørgens Gymnasium
Skt. Jørgens Gymnasium
Skt. Jørgens Gymnasium was a Danish grammar school located in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. It was established in 1858 as Frk. Jessens Forberedelsesskole and changed name to J.V. Jessens Latin- og Realskole in 1889. After yet a name change in 1904 to Henrik Madsens [Latin- og Real]Skole it was...
where he was taught by the Hungarian mathematician Julius Pal. He was a student of Harald Bohr
Harald Bohr
Harald August Bohr was a Danish mathematician and football player. After receiving his doctorate in 1910, Bohr became an eminent mathematician, founding the field of almost periodic functions. His brother was the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Niels Bohr...
at University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
. Supported by the Carlsberg Foundation
Carlsberg Foundation
Carlsberg Foundation was founded by J. C. Jacobsen in 1876 and owns 30,3% of the shares in Carlsberg Group and has 74,2% of the voting power.The purpose of the foundation is to run and fund Carlsberg Laboratory, the museum at Frederiksborg Palace, to fund scientific research, run the Ny Carlsberg...
he spent the Fall of 1929 in Szeged
Szeged
' is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county town of Csongrád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary....
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
where he attended lectures by Frigyes Riesz
Frigyes Riesz
Frigyes Riesz was a mathematician who was born in Győr, Hungary and died in Budapest, Hungary. He was rector and professor at University of Szeged...
and Alfréd Haar
Alfréd Haar
Alfréd Haar was a Jewish Hungarian mathematician. In 1904 he began to study at the University of Göttingen. His doctorate was supervised by David Hilbert. The Haar measure, Haar wavelet, and Haar transform are named in his honor....
. He then spent the winter semester at Göttingen taking lectures of David Hilbert
David Hilbert
David Hilbert was a German mathematician. He is recognized as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of...
and Edmund Landau
Edmund Landau
Edmund Georg Hermann Landau was a German Jewish mathematician who worked in the fields of number theory and complex analysis.-Biography:...
. He then returned to Copenhagen and defended his dissertation on May 1, 1930, results of which were later published in Acta Mathematica
Acta Mathematica
Acta Mathematica is a journal publishing original research papers in all fields of mathematics. The journal was founded by Gösta Mittag-Leffler in 1882 and is published by Institut Mittag-Leffler, a research institute for mathematics belonging to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences...
. In the early 1930s he continued to frequently travel visiting Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Cambridge, England, Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
, Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in America.
Jessen was a professor of descriptive geometry at Technical University of Denmark
Technical University of Denmark
The Technical University of Denmark , often simply referred to as DTU, is a university just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and is today ranked among Europe's leading engineering institutions, and the...
from 1935 till 1942, when he moved back to the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
where he was professor from 1942-1977 when he retired. He was the president of the Carlsberg Foundation
Carlsberg Foundation
Carlsberg Foundation was founded by J. C. Jacobsen in 1876 and owns 30,3% of the shares in Carlsberg Group and has 74,2% of the voting power.The purpose of the foundation is to run and fund Carlsberg Laboratory, the museum at Frederiksborg Palace, to fund scientific research, run the Ny Carlsberg...
in 1955-1963 and one of the founders of the Hans Christian Ørsted Institute
Hans Christian Ørsted Institute
The Hans Christian Ørsted Institute at the University of Copenhagen is a building complex that houses the departments of Mathematics and Chemistry, as well as part of Physics. It is named after the physicist Hans Christian Ørsted , who discovered electromagnetism and was the first to isolate...
. He was the Secretary of the Interim Executive Committee of the International Mathematical Union
International Mathematical Union
The International Mathematical Union is an international non-governmental organisation devoted to international cooperation in the field of mathematics across the world. It is a member of the International Council for Science and supports the International Congress of Mathematicians...
(1950–1952) and in September 1951 officially declared founding of the Union, with its first domicile
Domicile
*In architecture, a general term for a place of residence or "permanent residence" in legal terms*Domicile , the zodiac sign over which a planet has rulership...
in Copenhagen. He was also active at the Danish Mathematical Society
Danish Mathematical Society
The Danish Mathematical Society is a society of Danish mathematicians founded in 1873 at the University of Copenhagen, a year after French Mathematical Society. According to the society website, it has "the purpose of acting for the benefit of mathematics in research and education."- History :The...
. After his death, the society named an award in his honor (Børge Jessen Diploma Award).
In his private life his was married to Ellen (-1979), daughter of professor P.O. Pedersen, also cand. mag. in mathematics.