Norman Arthur Wiegmann (13 April 1920–14 November 2001) was a mathematician specializing in modern algebra, in particular linear algebra and matrix theory, who spent a major part of his career teaching at the George Washington University and other universities. He never married, and did not have any children.
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Dr. Wiegmann was born on April 13, 1920 in Los Angeles, California.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California in mathematics earning a Phi Beta Kappa Key in 1941. Two years later in 1943 he earned his Masters degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in mathematics. In 1947 he earned his doctorate from University of Wisconsin–Madison, also in mathematics and under the supervision of Cyrus MacDuffee. His doctoral thesis was entitled "The Theory of Normal Matrices with Some Analogs of the Generalized Principal Axis Transformation."
Wiegmann's took his first teaching position while earning his master and doctoral degrees at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. From 1941-1947 he served as a teaching assistant at this institution. Upon receiving his doctorate, Wiegmann taught at the University of Michigan from 1947 to 1951, and then made a change of career, working as a research mathematician at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, DC from 1951 to 1953. After leaving this job he went back to teaching, at the Catholic University of America as an associate and later a full professor in mathematics from 1953 to 1960. During this time he guided a number of students to earning their doctorate degrees in mathematics as the director of their dissertations, including Dominick Finn, Matthew Audibert, and Harry Hock. In 1960 Wiegmann decided to leave the Catholic University to join The George Washington University, also in Washington, DC. He served as a professor specializing in modern algebra, in particular linear algebra and matrix theory, with an office in the heart of the university's campus. While there he published a number of papers on mathematics including "Canonical Forms For Certain Matrices Under Unitary Congruence," in the Canadian Journal of Mathematics for July 1960, "Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Unitary Similarity," in the Journal of Australian Mathematical Society in the 1961/1962 volume, and "Trace Properties of Semigroups of Matrices with Quaternion Elements" in the Duke Mathematical Journal in 1962.
After leaving The George Washington University Wiegmann moved back to his native California and served as the chair of the mathematics department at the California State University in Dominguez Hills.
Wiegmann was a member of the honor organizations of Phi Beta Kappa, the American Mathematical Society, and Sigma Xi.
Wiegmann never married nor did he have any children; he had a nephew, Richard, who lived in Nebraska. He died of leukemia in November 2001.
Wiegmann conducted research throughout his adult life. His Ph.D. dissertation was entitled The theory of Normal Matrices with some Analogs of Generalized Principle Axis Transformation. His publications in later life include:
1. G.W. Math Professors. Special Collections and University Archives, Gelman Library, the George Washington University, Retrieved on the date of April 23, 2008
2. The Orange County Registrar Leisure World Obituaries November 17, 2001 Retrieved on the date of April 22, 2008
3- The Mathematics Genealogy Project.NDSU Department of Mathematics. Retrieved on the date of April 16, 2008
4- University Bulletins. Special Collections and University Archives, Gelman Library, the George Washington University, Retrieved on the date of April 23, 2008