Kazimierz Zarankiewicz is remembered in mathematics for work the next generation could build on.
The record lists Kazimierz Zarankiewicz as Polish mathematician (1902-1959).
Kazimierz Zarankiewicz was born at Częstochowa in 1902. His recorded nationality is Poland. He studied at University of Warsaw.
Around the turn of the twentieth century the foundations of mathematics were under open attack, and set theory and logic became urgent questions.
His academic posts were held at Warsaw University of Technology and University of Warsaw.
The recorded fields of work are topology.
His principal contribution is Zarankiewicz problem. Mathematics accumulates without discarding: a proof from two thousand years ago is still a proof.
The honours record reads: Officer of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
That the work was done from Poland matters: mathematical training, institutions and the language of publication have never been evenly distributed.
Kazimierz Zarankiewicz died in 1959, aged 57. The proofs remain, and a proof does not decay - which is the particular permanence mathematics offers.
Achievements
- Officer of the Order of Polonia Restituta
- Notable work: Zarankiewicz problem
- Held posts at Warsaw University of Technology and University of Warsaw
- Fields: topology
