| Authorised form of name | Gelfand; Izrael Moiseivich (1913 - 2009) |
| Dates | 1913 - 2009 |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Place of birth | Okny, Ukraine |
| Date of birth | 02 September 1913 |
| Date of death | 05/10/2009 |
| Activity | Education:
Showed early brilliance in mathematics, but expelled from school in his mid-teens and was unable to attend university as an undergraduate, as his father, who operated a mill and had an assistant, was designated a capitalist. At age 16 he went to Moscow, where he worked at odd jobs and attended lectures at Moscow State University. At 19 his talent was so obvious he was admitted directly to the university's graduate school. His doctorate was on abstract functions and linear operators in 1935 under Kolmogorov, and a higher doctoral degree in 1940.
Career:
Taught at Moscow State University and at the Steklov Mathematical Insititue. Ousted from both due to anti semitism, and instead worked at the Institute of Applied Mathematics. Elected toe the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1953 a s second tier corresponding member, full membership in 1984. Moved to the USA in the late 1980's, teaching at Harvard for a year and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before becoming a visiting professor of mathematics at Rutgers University, New Jersey. |
| Membership category | Foreign Member |
| Date of election | 21/04/1977 |
| Relationships | First wife Zorya Shapiro, mariage dissolved. 3 sons. Second wife Tatiana. Survivied by his second wife, their daughter, and two sons from his first wife, the third, Aleksandr,predeceased him. |
| Code | NA4175 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1977/42 | Gelfand, Izrael Moiseivich: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1977 |