Élie Cartan worked in mathematics at a period when the field's own foundations were under discussion.
The record lists Élie Cartan as French mathematician (1869–1951).
Élie Cartan was born at Dolomieu in 1869. His recorded nationality is France. He studied at École Normale Supérieure and Lycée Janson-de-Sailly.
The nineteenth century made mathematics rigorous: definitions were tightened, foundations questioned, and whole fields created from scratch.
His academic posts were held at Science Faculty of Paris, University of Montpellier and University of Lyon.
The recorded fields of work are differential geometry, general relativity and mathematics.
Among his principal contributions are Cartan–Dieudonné theorem and Cartan's lemma. A theorem is permanent in a way no experiment can be, which raises the standard for entry.
The honours record reads: Leconte Prize (1930), Poncelet Prize (1920) and Lobachevsky Prize (1937).
That the work was done from France matters: mathematical training, institutions and the language of publication have never been evenly distributed.
Élie Cartan died in 1951, aged 82. The proofs remain, and a proof does not decay - which is the particular permanence mathematics offers.
Achievements
- Leconte Prize — 1930
- Poncelet Prize — 1920
- Lobachevsky Prize — 1937
- Notable work: Cartan–Dieudonné theorem
- Notable work: Cartan's lemma
- Held posts at Science Faculty of Paris, University of Montpellier and University of Lyon
- Fields: differential geometry, general relativity and mathematics
