Kurt Hensel
Encyclopedia
Kurt Wilhelm Sebastian Hensel (29 December 1861 – 1 June 1941) was a German
mathematician born in Königsberg
, Prussia
.
He was the son of the landowner and entrepreneur Sebastian Hensel, brother of the philosopher Paul Hensel
, grandson of the composer Fanny Mendelssohn
and the painter Wilhelm Hensel
, and a descendant of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn
.
He studied mathematics in Berlin
and Bonn
, under mathematicians like Leopold Kronecker
and Karl Weierstrass
.
Later in his life he was a professor at the University of Marburg until 1930. He was also an editor of the mathematical Crelle's Journal.
He is well known for his introduction of p-adic number
s. First described by him in 1897, they became increasingly important in number theory
and other fields during the twentieth century.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
mathematician born in Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, Prussia
Province of Prussia
The Province of Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1829-1878 created out of the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia....
.
He was the son of the landowner and entrepreneur Sebastian Hensel, brother of the philosopher Paul Hensel
Paul Hensel
----Paul Hugo Hensel was a German philosopher, son of the landowner and entrepreneur Sebastian Hensel, brother of the mathematician Kurt Hensel , grandson of the composer Fanny Mendelssohn and the painter Wilhelm Hensel, and a descendant of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.Hensel was born in...
, grandson of the composer Fanny Mendelssohn
Fanny Mendelssohn
Fanny Cäcilie Mendelssohn , later Fanny Hensel, was a German pianist and composer, the sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn and granddaughter of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn...
and the painter Wilhelm Hensel
Wilhelm Hensel
Wilhelm Hensel was a German painter, brother of Luise Hensel, husband to Fanny Mendelssohn, and brother-in-law to Felix Mendelssohn....
, and a descendant of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
.
He studied mathematics in Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
and Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
, under mathematicians like Leopold Kronecker
Leopold Kronecker
Leopold Kronecker was a German mathematician who worked on number theory and algebra.He criticized Cantor's work on set theory, and was quoted by as having said, "God made integers; all else is the work of man"...
and Karl Weierstrass
Karl Weierstrass
Karl Theodor Wilhelm Weierstrass was a German mathematician who is often cited as the "father of modern analysis".- Biography :Weierstrass was born in Ostenfelde, part of Ennigerloh, Province of Westphalia....
.
Later in his life he was a professor at the University of Marburg until 1930. He was also an editor of the mathematical Crelle's Journal.
He is well known for his introduction of p-adic number
P-adic number
In mathematics, and chiefly number theory, the p-adic number system for any prime number p extends the ordinary arithmetic of the rational numbers in a way different from the extension of the rational number system to the real and complex number systems...
s. First described by him in 1897, they became increasingly important in 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 other fields during the twentieth century.
External links
- Helmut HasseHelmut HasseHelmut Hasse was a German mathematician working in algebraic number theory, known for fundamental contributions to class field theory, the application of p-adic numbers to local classfield theory and diophantine geometry , and to local zeta functions.-Life:He was born in Kassel, and died in...
: Kurt Hensel zum Gedächtnis in: Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik 187 (1949), S. 1-13