Lionel Cooper (mathematician)
| Lionel Cooper | |
|---|---|
JLB Cooper, c.1960
|
|
| Born |
27 December 1915 Beaufort West, Western Cape, South Africa |
| Died | 8 August 1979 (aged 63) London, England |
| Nationality | South African |
| Fields | operator theory, transform theory, thermodynamics, functional analysis and differential equations |
| Institutions |
Birkbeck College Imperial College Cardiff University University of Witwatersrand Caltech University of Toronto. Chelsea College, University of London |
| Alma mater |
University of Cape Town Queen's College, Oxford |
| Doctoral advisor | Edward Titchmarsh |
| Doctoral students | James Stewart |
| Notable awards | Berwick Prize (1949) |
Jacob Lionel Bakst Cooper (27 December 1915 – 8 August 1979) was a South African mathematician who worked in operator theory, transform theory, thermodynamics, functional analysis and differential equations.
Cooper was born in Beaufort West, Western Cape, South Africa. Following the death of his father in 1919, the family moved to Cape Town where he attended the South African College School. His ability was soon recognized and he was encouraged to become a rabbi. However he rejected the Jewish faith and instead studied mathematics and physics at the University of Cape Town, where he won the Governor General’s prize for pure mathematics. He took an active part in student politics becoming a socialist member of the Student’s Parliament, with strong views against racism and Nazism.
He won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford and started to study at Queen's College in 1935, obtaining his D.Phil. in 1940 under the supervision of Edward Charles Titchmarsh. His work made an immediate impact and as early as January 1939 he was invited to speak at Hadamard’s seminar in the Collège de France.
While in Oxford he joined the Communist party, where he met his future wife Kathleen Dixon. Turned down for active service due to his poor eyesight, he worked for the Bristol Aeroplane Company from 1940 to 1944. During this time he became disenchanted with Russia’s non-aggression pact with the Nazis and left the Communist party.
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