John Rainwater
| John Rainwater | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Rainwater seminar (functional analysis) |
| Influences | John R. Isbell, Robert R. Phelps |
| Influenced | Joseph Diestel |
The fictitious mathematician John Rainwater was created as a student prank but has become known as the author of important results in functional analysis.
At the University of Washington in 1952, John Rainwater was invented and enrolled in a mathematics course by graduate students who were in possession of a duplicate student-registration form. Later, mathematicians published under the pseudonym of John Rainwater.
Papers were published under the name Rainwater mainly in functional analysis, particularly in the geometric theory of Banach spaces and in convex functions. Rainwater's theorem is an important result in summability theory and functional analysis. The University of Washington's seminar in functional analysis is called the Rainwater seminar, and the associated Rainwater notes have influenced Banach-space theory and convex analysis.
The concept of a fictional pseudonym used by multiple people creating valuable mathematics is not unique. Most notably, Nicolas Bourbaki has been the collective pseudonym for a number of leading mathematicians writing in French for many decades.
John Rainwater was invented by graduate students at the University of Washington in 1952, when students used an extra registration form to enroll Rainwater in a course on real functions. Students submitted homework for Rainwater throughout the semester. The professor caught on to the prank around the middle of the term. Other students in the class were made aware of the situation from the professor's enigmatic remarks after he became the victim of a novelty "exploding" fountain pen bearing Rainwater's name.
Early on, Rainwater distinguished himself by solving problems in the American Mathematical Monthly, whose sponsoring society, the Mathematical Association of America, invited him to join. John R. Isbell published the first paper in Rainwater's name. Other mathematicians have published papers using the name "Rainwater", and acknowledged "Rainwater's assistance" in articles. The seminar on functional analysis at the University of Washington has been called the "Rainwater seminar". Rainwater's theorem is an important result in summability theory and Banach-space theory.
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