Edmund Georg Hermann Landau (14 February 1877 – 19 February 1938) was a German Jewish mathematician who worked in the fields of number theory

Number theory

Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers. Number theorists study prime numbers as well...

 and complex analysis

Complex analysis

Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is useful in many branches of mathematics, including number theory and applied mathematics; as well as in physics,...

.
Edmund Landau was born in Berlin to a wealthy Jewish family. His father was Leopold Landau

Leopold Landau

Leopold Landau was a German gynecologist born in Warsaw.He studied medicine at the Universities of Breslau, Würzburg and Berlin, obtaining his doctorate at the latter institution in 1870. After serving as an assistant surgeon during the Franco-Prussian War, he was a lecturer in gynecology at the...

, a gynecologist. His mother was Johanna Jacoby from the well known German Jewish banking family of Jacoby. Landau studied mathematics at the University of Berlin and received his doctorate in 1899 and his habilitation

Habilitation

Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...

 (the post-doctoral qualification required in German universities) in 1901.