Hanna Neumann
Encyclopedia
Johanna Neumann (née von Caemmerer) (12 February 1914 – 14 November 1971) was a German
-born mathematician
who worked on group theory
.
Johanna was born in Lankwitz
, Steglitz-Zehlendorf
, Germany
. She attended Auguste-Viktoria-Schule and the University of Berlin and completed her studies in 1936 with distinctions in mathematics and physics. She began studying for her Ph.D. at the University of Göttingen in 1937. She moved to England
in the following year to marry Bernhard Neumann
, who as a Jew had fled the Nazis. They married in December and went on to have five children. Neumann completed her D Phil. in group theory at the Society of Home Students, Oxford in 1944 under Olga Taussky-Todd. Her thesis was entitled 'Sub-group Structure of Free Products of Groups with an Amalgamated Subgroup'. Following her naturalisation as a British
citizen, she took a teaching position at the University of Hull
in 1946.
From 1958 she took up a lecturing post at the Mathematics Department
of Manchester College of Science and Technology
(later to become UMIST). The Department had recently started an honours programme in mathematics and were looking for a relatively senior pure mathematician to be responsible for that aspect of the courses. Neumann
..began organizing courses which would show the students something of mathematics as she saw it. She was able to introduce into the first year course, which had till then been entirely problem-oriented, a small strand of one lecture a week of an introduction to mathematics in the style of Feigl-Rohrbach. The later-year algebra courses much more thoroughly reflected her own interests and views. She continued to develop a style of teaching which aimed at making the acquisition of very abstract ideas accessible through judicious use of more concrete examples and well-graded exercises. http://www.science.org.au/academy/memoirs/neumann.htm
The Neumanns moved to Australia
in 1963 to take academic positions at the Australian National University
. She was made chair of pure mathematics in 1964 and was dean of students between 1968 and 1969. Her most widely known work Varieties of Groups was published in 1967.
She died from a cerebral aneurysm
while on a lecture tour in Ottawa, Ontario. A building at the Australian National University was named in her honour in 1973. Three of her five children became mathematicians including Peter M. Neumann
.
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...
-born 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....
who worked on group theory
Group theory
In mathematics and abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as groups.The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as rings, fields, and vector spaces can all be seen as groups endowed with additional operations and...
.
Johanna was born in Lankwitz
Lankwitz
Lankwitz is a German locality within the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Berlin. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Steglitz.-History:The locality was first mentioned in 1239 with the name of Lankowice...
, Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Steglitz-Zehlendorf is the sixth borough of Berlin, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Steglitz and Zehlendorf.-Demographics:...
, Germany
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...
. She attended Auguste-Viktoria-Schule and the University of Berlin and completed her studies in 1936 with distinctions in mathematics and physics. She began studying for her Ph.D. at the University of Göttingen in 1937. She moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the following year to marry Bernhard Neumann
Bernhard Neumann
Bernhard Hermann Neumann AC FRS was a German-born British mathematician who was one of the leading figures in group theory, greatly influencing the direction of the subject....
, who as a Jew had fled the Nazis. They married in December and went on to have five children. Neumann completed her D Phil. in group theory at the Society of Home Students, Oxford in 1944 under Olga Taussky-Todd. Her thesis was entitled 'Sub-group Structure of Free Products of Groups with an Amalgamated Subgroup'. Following her naturalisation as a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
citizen, she took a teaching position at the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
in 1946.
From 1958 she took up a lecturing post at the Mathematics Department
School of Mathematics, University of Manchester
The School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester is one of the largest mathematics departments in the United Kingdom, with around 80 academic staff and an undergraduate intake of roughly 400 a year and another 200 postgraduate students...
of Manchester College of Science and Technology
UMIST
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research...
(later to become UMIST). The Department had recently started an honours programme in mathematics and were looking for a relatively senior pure mathematician to be responsible for that aspect of the courses. Neumann
..began organizing courses which would show the students something of mathematics as she saw it. She was able to introduce into the first year course, which had till then been entirely problem-oriented, a small strand of one lecture a week of an introduction to mathematics in the style of Feigl-Rohrbach. The later-year algebra courses much more thoroughly reflected her own interests and views. She continued to develop a style of teaching which aimed at making the acquisition of very abstract ideas accessible through judicious use of more concrete examples and well-graded exercises. http://www.science.org.au/academy/memoirs/neumann.htm
The Neumanns moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1963 to take academic positions at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. She was made chair of pure mathematics in 1964 and was dean of students between 1968 and 1969. Her most widely known work Varieties of Groups was published in 1967.
She died from a cerebral aneurysm
Cerebral aneurysm
A cerebral or brain aneurysm is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel.- Signs and symptoms :...
while on a lecture tour in Ottawa, Ontario. A building at the Australian National University was named in her honour in 1973. Three of her five children became mathematicians including Peter M. Neumann
Peter M. Neumann
Peter Michael Neumann OBE is a British mathematician. He is the son of the mathematicians Bernhard Neumann and Hanna Neumann and, after gaining a B.A. from The Queen's College, Oxford in 1963, obtained his D.Phil from Oxford University in 1966...
.