Paul Painlevé is remembered in mathematics for work the next generation could build on.
The record lists Paul Painlevé as French mathematician and politician (1863-1933).
Paul Painlevé was born at Paris in 1863. His recorded nationality is France. He studied at École Normale Supérieure and Lycée Louis-le-Grand.
The nineteenth century made mathematics rigorous: definitions were tightened, foundations questioned, and whole fields created from scratch.
His academic posts were held at University of Lille, Science Faculty of Paris and École polytechnique.
Among his principal contributions are Painlevé transcendents, Painlevé conjecture and Painlevé paradox. Mathematics accumulates without discarding: a proof from two thousand years ago is still a proof.
The honours record reads: Poncelet Prize (1896), Knight of the Legion of Honour (1902), Bordin Prize (1894) and Collar of the Order of Charles III (1925).
That the work was done from France matters: mathematical training, institutions and the language of publication have never been evenly distributed.
Paul Painlevé died in 1933, aged 70. The proofs remain, and a proof does not decay - which is the particular permanence mathematics offers.
Achievements
- Poncelet Prize — 1896
- Knight of the Legion of Honour — 1902
- Bordin Prize — 1894
- Collar of the Order of Charles III — 1925
- Notable work: Painlevé transcendents
- Notable work: Painlevé conjecture
- Notable work: Painlevé paradox
- Notable work: Painlevé theorem
- Held posts at University of Lille, Science Faculty of Paris and École polytechnique
