Jan Arnoldus Schouten

Jan A. Schouten
Prof. Dr. J.A. Schouten, 1938-39
Born	(1883-08-28)28 August 1883 Nieuwer-Amstel
Died	20 January 1971(1971-01-20) (aged 87) Epe
Nationality	Dutch
Fields	Mathematics
Institutions	Leiden University
Alma mater	Delft University of Technology
Doctoral advisor	Jacob Cardinaal[]
Doctoral students	Johannes Haantjes[] Albert Nijenhuis Dirk Struik

Jan Arnoldus Schouten (28 August 1883 – 20 January 1971) was a Dutch mathematician and Professor at the Delft University of Technology. He was an important contributor to the development of tensor calculus and Ricci calculus, and was one of the founders of the Mathematisch Centrum in Amsterdam.

Schouten was born in Nieuwer-Amstel to a family of eminent shipping magnates. He started to study electrical engineering in 1901 at the Delft University of Technology, where he graduated in 1908. During his study he had become fascinated by the power and subtleties of vector analysis. After a short while in industry, he returned to Delft to study Mathematics, where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1914 under supervision of Jacob Cardinaal with a thesis entitled Grundlagen der Vektor- und Affinoranalysis.

Schouten was an effective university administrator and leader of mathematical societies. During his tenure as professor and as institute head he was involved in various controversies with the topologist and intuitionist mathematician L. E. J. Brouwer. He was a shrewd investor as well as mathematician and successfully managed the budget of the institute and Dutch mathematical society. He hosted the International Congress of Mathematicians in Amsterdam in early 1954, and gave the opening address. Schouten was one of the founders of the Mathematisch Centrum in Amsterdam.

Among his PhD candidates students were Johanna Manders (1919), Dirk Struik (1922), Johannes Haantjes (1933), Wouter van der Kulk (1945), and Albert Nijenhuis (1952).