Charles Émile Picard

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Charles Émile Picard (July 24, 1856 - December 11, 1941) was a leading French mathematician. (He is usually referred to simply as Émile Picard.)

Picard's mathematical papers, textbooks, and many popular writings exhibit an extraordinary range of interests, as well as an impressive mastery of the mathematics of his time. Modern students of complex variables are probably familiar with two of his named theorems. His lesser theorem states that every nonconstant entire function takes every value in the complex plane, with perhaps one exception. His greater theorem states that an analytic function with an essential singularity takes every value infinitely often, with perhaps one exception, in any neighborhood of the singularity. He also made important contributions in the theory of differential equations, including work on Painlevé transcendents and his introduction of a kind of symmetry group for a linear differential equation, the Picard group. In connection with his work on function theory, he was one of the first mathematicians to use the emerging ideas of algebraic topology. In addition to his path-breaking theoretical work, Picard also made important contributions to applied mathematics, including the theories of telegraphy and elasticity. His collected papers run to four volumes.

Like his contemporary, Henri Poincaré, Picard was much concerned with the training of mathematics, physics, and engineering students. He wrote a classic textbook on analysis-- which is still considered a standard reference-- as well as one of the first textbooks on the theory of relativity. Picard's popular writings include biographies of many leading French mathematicians, including his father in law, Charles Hermite.

In 1924, he was elected to the Académie française.

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[edit] References

  • Charles Émile Picard. MacTutor Archive. Retrieved on June 12, 2005.
  • Picard, Émile (1978-1981). Œuvres de Ch.-É. Picard. Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique. LLCN 78400599.  Four volumes
  • Picard, Émile (1931). Éloges et discours académiques. Grsn 00559083. 
  • Picard, Émile (1922). Discours et mélanges. Paris: Gauthier-Villars. LCCN 23002623. 
  • Picard, Émile (1922). La théorie de la relativité et ses applications à l'astronomie. Paris: Gauthier-Villars. Grsn 00571095. 
  • Picard, Émile (1909). La science moderne et son état actuel. Paris: E. Flammarion. LCCN 07010259. 
  • Picard, Émile (1891--1896). Traité d'Analyse. Paris: Gauthier-Villars et fils. Grsn 00560562.  Three volumes

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Preceded by
Charles de Freycinet		 Seat 1
Académie française
1924–1941		 Succeeded by
Louis de Broglie