Mathematicians
Lothar Collatz
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German mathematician specializing in numerical analysis, with 238 publications across a long career. He earned his doctorate in Berlin in 1935 under Alfred Klose, then held professorships at the Technical University of Hanover (1943-1952) and the University of Hamburg (1952 onward), where he founded the Institute of Applied Mathematics. He is remembered today mainly for a single 1937 novelty rather than his substantial body of numerical-analysis work: the iterative rule (halve an even number, triple an odd one and add one, repeat) that became the Collatz conjecture, which he never published himself.
Facts
BirthplaceArnsberg, Westphalia, Germany 1 Death PlaceVarna, Bulgaria, while attending a conference 1 Nationality / Culture Defining ContributionProposed in 1937 the simple iterative process now called the Collatz conjecture; his lasting professional legacy, however, is founding the University of Hamburg's Institute of Applied Mathematics and a substantial body of work in numerical analysis. 1 Notable WorkProfessorships at the Technical University of Hanover (1943-1952) and the University of Hamburg (1952 onward); founder of Hamburg's Institute of Applied Mathematics 1 AwardMember of the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina; honorary doctorates from universities including Sao Paulo, Vienna, Dundee, Hannover and Dresden. 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
Conjectures Posed
Proposed in 1937; never published by Collatz himself, transmitted through the mathematical community by word of mouth.
In Branch
Sources
1. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
University of St Andrews, School of Mathematics and Statistics
2. Lothar Collatz (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationinfoboxQuote, infobox
German mathematician (1910-1990)
2. Lothar Collatz (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAwards/Honors sectionQuote, Awards/Honors section
election to the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna
Collatz Conjecture (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationConjectures Posed: Collatz Conjecture, Statement of the problem section, opening paragraphQuote, Conjectures Posed: Collatz Conjecture, Statement of the problem section, opening paragraph
It is named after the mathematician Lothar Collatz, who introduced the idea in 1937, two years after receiving his doctorate.
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