| Andrew Gleason | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 4, 1921 Fresno, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 17, 2008 (aged 86) |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Harvard University |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Doctoral advisor | George Mackey |
| Doctoral students | Joel Spencer |
| Known for | Gleason's theorem Greenwood–Gleason graph |
| Notable awards | Newcomb Cleveland Prize (1952) |
Andrew Mattei Gleason (November 4, 1921 – October 17, 2008) was an American mathematician and the eponym of Gleason's theorem and the Greenwood–Gleason graph. After briefly attending Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California)[1] he graduated from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, then Yale University in 1942, where he became a Putnam Fellow. He subsequently joined the United States Navy, where he was part of a team responsible for breaking Japanese codes during World War II. He was appointed a Junior Fellow at Harvard in 1946, and later joined the faculty there where he was the Hollis Professor of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy. Like another mathematician Garrett Birkhoff, Gleason earned an appointment as a professor at Harvard despite lacking a doctorate. He retired in 1992. He is well-known for his work on Hilbert's fifth problem. [1][2]
Professor Gleason was awarded the Newcomb Cleveland Prize in 1952 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[3] In 1996 the Mathematics Association of America awarded him the Yueh-Gin Gung & Dr. Charles Y. Hu Prize for distinguished service to mathematics.[4]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Hasbrouck Van Vleck |
Hollis Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy 1969-1992 |
Succeeded by Bertrand Halperin |
|
|||||