| Alexander Ostrowski | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 25, 1893 Kiev, Russian Empire |
| Died | November 20, 1986 (aged 93) Montagnola, Lugano, Switzerland |
| Doctoral advisor | Edmund Landau Felix Klein |
| Other academic advisors | Dmitry Grave Kurt Hensel |
| Doctoral students | Theodore Motzkin Walter Gautschi Stefan E. Warschawski |
| Influences | David Hilbert Erich Hecke |
Alexander Markowich Ostrowski (Russian: Алекса́ндр Ма́ркович Остро́вский; 25 September 1893, Kiev, Russian Empire – 20 November 1986, Montagnola, Lugano, Switzerland) was a mathematician.
His father Mark having been a merchant, Alexander Ostrowski attended the Kiev College of Commerce, not a high school, and thus had an insufficient qualification to be admitted to university. However, his extraordinary talent did not remain undetected: Ostrowski's mentor Grave wrote to Landau and Hensel for help.
Subsequently Ostrowski began to study mathematics at Marburg University under Hensel's supervision in 1912.
After World War I had ended Ostrowski moved on to Göttingen where he wrote his doctoral dissertation and was influenced by Hilbert, Klein and Landau.
In 1920, after having obtained his doctorate, Ostrowski moved to Hamburg where he worked as Hecke's assistant and finished his habilitation in 1922.