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Francesco Severi

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Francesco Severi
Born13 April 1879(1879-04-13)
Arezzo,Italy
Died8 December 1961(1961-12-08)(aged 82)
Rome,Italy
Alma materUniversità di Torino,1900
Known forAlgebraic geometry,several complex variables
AwardsGold medal of theAccademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL(1906)
Prix Bordin(1907) (jointly withFederigo Enriques)
Guccia Medal(1908)
"Premio reale" of theAccademia Nazionale dei Lincei(1913)
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsUniversità di Torino,Università di Bologna,Università di Padova,Università di Roma,Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica(nowIstituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica Francesco Severi)
Doctoral advisorCorrado Segre
Other academic advisorsEnrico d'Ovidio,Federigo Enriques,Eugenio Bertini
Doctoral studentsAldo Andreotti,Enzo Martinelli,Guido Zappa
Other notable studentsLuigi Fantappiè,Gaetano Fichera
Francesco Severi (photo by Konrad Jacobs)

Francesco Severi(13 April 1879 – 8 December 1961) was an Italianmathematician.He was the chair of the committee on Fields Medal on 1936, at the first delivery.

Severi was born inArezzo,Italy. He is famous for his contributions toalgebraic geometryand thetheory of functions of several complex variables.He became the effective leader of theItalian school of algebraic geometry.Together withFederigo Enriques,he won theBordin prizefrom theFrench Academy of Sciences.

He contributed in a major way tobirational geometry,the theory ofalgebraic surfaces,in particular of the curves lying on them, the theory ofmoduli spacesand thetheory of functions of several complex variables.He wrote prolifically, and some of his work (following the intuition-led approach ofFederigo Enriques) has subsequently been shown to be not rigorous according to the then new standards set in particular byOscar ZariskiandAndré Weil.Although many of his arguments have since been made rigorous, a significant fraction were not only lacking in rigor but also wrong (in contrast to the work of Enriques, which though not rigorous was almost entirely correct). At the personal level, according toRoth (1963)he was easily offended, and he was involved in a number of controversies. Most notably, he was a staunch supporter of the Italian fascist regime ofBenito Mussoliniand was included on a committee of academics that was to conduct an anti-semitic purge of all scholarly societies and academic institutions.[1]

Biography

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His childhood was marked by the death of his father, which occurred when he was 9 years old. This had serious economic repercussions on their family. Although he had to earn a living while conducting private lessons, Francesco Severi managed to continue his studies and enroll in the engineering course at theUniversity of Turin.Due to the influence of courses byCorrado Segre,Severi quickly found a passion for pure mathematics.

In 1900, he completed his training with a thesis in thegeometry of numbers,which would later become his favorite subject.

After his thesis, he became assistant toEnrico D'Ovidioat the University of Turin and from 1902 to 1905, he was a lecturer inprojectiveanddescriptive geometry.But soon, he obtained his transfer to theUniversity of Bolognaas assistant toFederigo Enriques.Then at theUniversity of Pisaas assistant toEugenio Bertini.

In 1904, in consideration of the results he obtained in the geometry of numbers (founding the theory ofbirational invariantsofalgebraic surfaces), he obtained the chair of projective and descriptive geometry at theUniversity of Parma.However, he spent a year at theUniversity of Padua.where, he teaches different subjects, and takes the direction of the engineering unit.

In 1906, he obtained a theorem of existence of algebraic curves drawn on certain types of surfaces, thus beginning the search for the classification ofrational surfaces.[2]

Mobilized during World War I, Severi enlisted in the artillery.

In 1921, he obtained the chair of algebraic geometry atLa Sapienza University in Rome.

In 1923, he was elected rector of this university. But in 1925, followingthe assassinationof the socialist politicianMatteotti,he gave up his duties as rector. Nevertheless, Severi would remain without reaction againstfascismand would accept the application of theracial laws.

In 1938, Severi was one of the founders of theIstituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica.Oscar Zariskiis one of his most famous students.

In 1959, he converted to Catholicism and published his autobiographyDalla scienza alla fede(1959), he repents of his lack of political discernment

Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to various things, and mathematicians often make mistakes in politics, because it is, conversely, the art of giving different names to identical things.

During his career, Severi received numerous awards, including the Gold Medal of the National Academy of Sciences and, together with Federigo Enriques, the Bordin Prize of the Paris Academy of Sciences (this award, created in 1835 by Charles-Laurent Bordin is a biennial prize awarded to authors of works on subjects of public interest).

He was member of numerous Italian and foreign academies, including theAccademia dei Linceiin 1910 and theAccademia delle Scienze di Torinoin 1918.

Selected publications

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His scientific production includes more than 400 publications and numerous treatises. All the mathematical works of Francesco Severi, except all books, are collected in the six volumes of his "Opere Matematiche".

  • Severi, Francesco (2 March 1931),"Sur une propriété fondamentale des fonctions analytiques de plusieurs variables",Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences(in French),192:596–599,Zbl0001.14802,available atGallica.The paper containing the first proof ofMorera's theoremforholomorphic functions of several variables.
  • Severi, Francesco (1931a), "Risoluzione del problema generale di Dirichlet per le funzioni biarmoniche" [Solution of the general Dirichlet problem for biharmonic functions],Rendiconti della Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Classe di Scienze Fisiche, Matematiche e Naturali,series 6 (in Italian),13:795–804,JFM57.0393.01,Zbl0002.34202.The announce of the solution of theDirichlet problemforpluriharmonic functionsfordomainswithreal analyticboundaries.
  • Severi, Francesco (1932), "Una proprietà fondamentale dei campi di olomorfismo di una funzione analitica di una variabile reale e di una variabile complessa" [A fundamental property of the domain of holomorphy of an analytic function of one real variable and one complex variable],Rendiconti della Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Classe di Scienze Fisiche, Matematiche e Naturali,series 6 (in Italian),15:487–490,JFM58.0352.05,Zbl0004.40702.In this paper Severi describes the "passage from real to complex"method he developed in order to deal with several problems in thetheory of functions of several complex variables.
  • Severi, Francesco (1942–1943),"A proposito d'un teorema di Hartogs"[About a theorem of Hartogs],Commentarii Mathematici Helvetici(in Italian),15(1): 350–352,doi:10.1007/bf02565650,MR0010730,S2CID120514642,Zbl0028.15301.In this work Severi gives his proof of theHartogs' extension theorem.
  • Severi, Francesco (1958),Lezioni sulle funzioni analitiche di più variabili complesse – Tenute nel 1956–57 all'Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica in Roma[Lectures on analytic functions of several complex variables – Lectured in 1956–57 at the Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica in Rome] (in Italian), Padova: CEDAM – Casa Editrice Dott. Antonio Milani, pp. XIV+255,Zbl0094.28002.Notes from a course held by Francesco Severi at theIstituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica(which at present bears his name), containing appendices of Enzo Martinelli, Giovanni Battista Rizza andMario Benedicty.
  • Severi, Francesco (1971),Opere matematiche. Memorie e note Vol. I(PDF)(in Italian), Roma:Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei(distributed by Bardi Editore), pp. XLII+491,MR0701703,Zbl0582.01027(available from the "Edizione Nazionale Mathematica Italiana"). His"Mathematical works, Memoirs and Notes":the complete collection, with the exception of books, of Francesco Severi's scientific contributions. The reprinted works, written in Italian, French, German, retain their original language in an improved typographical form amended from typographical errors and author's oversights: also, a comment of Severi was added to several papers. Volume I collects works published from 1900 to 1908.
  • Severi, Francesco (1974),Opere matematiche. Memorie e note Vol. II(PDF)(in Italian), Roma:Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei(distributed by Bardi Editore), p. 567,MR0701702,Zbl0582.01027(available from the "Edizione Nazionale Mathematica Italiana"). His"Mathematical works, Memoirs and Notes":the complete collection, with the exception of books, of Francesco Severi's scientific contributions. The reprinted works, written in Italian, French, German, retain their original language in an improved typographical form amended from typographical errors and author's oversights: also, a comment of Severi was added to several papers. Volume II collects works published from 1909 to 1917.
  • Severi, Francesco (1977),Opere matematiche. Memorie e note Vol. III(PDF)(in Italian), Roma:Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei(distributed by Bardi Editore), p. 603,MR0701700,Zbl0582.01027(available from the "Edizione Nazionale Mathematica Italiana"). His"Mathematical works, Memoirs and Notes":the complete collection, with the exception of books, of Francesco Severi's scientific contributions. The reprinted works, written in Italian, French, German, retain their original language in an improved typographical form amended from typographical errors and author's oversights: also, a comment of Severi was added to several papers. Volume III collects works published from 1918 to 1932.
  • Severi, Francesco (1980),Opere matematiche. Memorie e note Vol. IV(PDF)(in Italian), Roma:Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei(distributed by Bardi Editore), p. 603,MR0701701,Zbl0582.01027(available from the "Edizione Nazionale Mathematica Italiana"). His"Mathematical works, Memoirs and Notes":the complete collection, with the exception of books, of Francesco Severi's scientific contributions. The reprinted works, written in Italian, French, German, retain their original language in an improved typographical form amended from typographical errors and author's oversights: also, a comment of Severi was added to several papers. Volume IV collects works published from 1933 to 1941.
  • Severi, Francesco (1988),Opere matematiche. Memorie e note Vol. V(PDF)(in Italian), Roma:Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei(distributed by Bardi Editore), p. 553,MR1030994(available from the "Edizione Nazionale Mathematica Italiana"). His"Mathematical works, Memoirs and Notes":the complete collection, with the exception of books, of Francesco Severi's scientific contributions. The reprinted works, written in Italian, French, German, retain their original language in an improved typographical form amended from typographical errors and author's oversights: also, a comment of Severi was added to several papers. Volume V collects works published from 1942 to 1948.
  • Severi, Francesco (1989),Opere matematiche. Memorie e note Vol. VI(PDF)(in Italian), Roma:Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei(distributed by Bardi Editore), p. 499,MR1030995(available from the "Edizione Nazionale Mathematica Italiana"). His"Mathematical works, Memoirs and Notes":the complete collection, with the exception of books, of Francesco Severi's scientific contributions. The reprinted works, written in Italian, French, German, retain their original language in an improved typographical form amended from typographical errors and author's oversights: also, a comment of Severi was added to several papers. Volume VI collects works published from 1949 to 1961.

Articles onScientia

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Reviews

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Goodstein, Judith;Babbitt, Donald (2012)."A Fresh Look at Francesco Severi".Notices of the American Mathematical Society.59(8): 1064.doi:10.1090/noti881.
  2. ^Severi, Francesco (1906-06-01)."Sulla totalità delle curve algebriche tracciate sopra una superficie algebrica".Mathematische Annalen(in Italian).62(2): 194–225.doi:10.1007/BF01449978.ISSN1432-1807.

Biographical and general references

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Scientific references

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