Gabriel Kron
| Gabriel Kron | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 1, 1901 Baia Mare, Romania (Nagybanya, Austria-Hungary) |
| Died | October 25, 1968 (aged 66–67) Schenectady, New York, USA |
| Nationality | Hungarian-American |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Known for | Diakoptics |
| Awards | Montefiore Prize Coffin Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Electrical engineering |
| Institutions | General Electric |
Gabriel Kron (1901 – 1968) was a Hungarian American electrical engineer who promoted the use of methods of linear algebra, multilinear algebra, and differential geometry in the field. His method of system decomposition and solution called Diakoptics is still influential today. Though he published widely, his methods were slow to be assimilated. At Union College a symposium was organized by Schaffer Library on "Gabriel Kron, the Man and His Work", held October 14, 1969. H.H. Happ edited the contributed papers, which were published by Union College Press as Gabriel Kron and Systems Theory.
Gabriel Kron was born in 1901 in Baia Mare in Transylvania, Hungary. In 1919 he graduated from the gymnasium. By that time Transylvania had been ceded to Romania. Kron's older brother Joseph returned home, which he had left when he was ten years old. Joseph wished for a professional degree, but had no schooling after grade five. Gabriel tutored Joseph, who passed various exams, culminating in the high-school exam in 1920. In December of that year the two left home for the United States. The brothers earned their living in New York City with odd jobs such as dish washer, bus boy, or working machines in garment factories.
In the fall of 1922 the brothers had saved enough money to enter engineering school at University of Michigan. They continued supporting themselves with casual employment. Gabriel found digging ditches more congenial than dishwashing. He coined the motto: "There are only two occupations compatible with human dignity. One is the study of atomic structure. The other is digging ditches."
In 1925 Gabriel graduated and started on a trip around the world. He planned to walk and hitch hike as much as possible. He ran out of money when he reached Los Angeles, where he worked for the United States Electrical Manufacturing Company. He then transferred to the Robbins and Myers Company in Springfield, Ohio. In 1926 he set out again. From California he took passage on an oil tanker bound for Tahiti. In Sydney, Australia he ran out of money. After saving 35 pounds from work at the Electricity Metering Manufacturing Company he set out for Northern Australia.
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