P. Du Val

Patrick du Val (March 26, 1903 – January 22, 1987) was a British mathematician, known for his work on algebraic geometry, differential geometry, and general relativity. The concept of Du Val singularity of an algebraic surface is named after him.

Du Val was born in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire. He was the son of a cabinet maker, but his parents' marriage broke up. As a child, he suffered ill-health, in particular asthma, and was educated mostly by his mother. He was awarded a first class honours degree from the University of London External Programme in 1926, which he took by correspondence course.

He was a talented linguist, for example teaching himself Norwegian so that he might read Peer Gynt. He also had a strong interest in history but his love of mathematics led him to pursue that as a career. His earliest publications show a leaning towards applied mathematics.

His mother moved to a village near Cambridge and he became acquainted with Henry Baker, Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry. Baker turned his interest towards algebraic geometry, and he entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1927.

Du Val's early work before becoming a research student was on relativity, including a paper on the De Sitter model of the universe and Grassmann's tensor calculus. His doctorate was on algebraic geometry and in his thesis he generalised a result of Schoute. He worked on algebraic surfaces and later in his career became interested in elliptic functions.

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