Paul Cohn
| Paul Cohn | |
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Paul Cohn in 1989
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| Born | Paul Moritz Cohn 8 January 1924 Hamburg, Germany |
| Died | 20 April 2006 (aged 82) London, England |
| Residence | Germany (1924–1939), United Kingdom (1939–2006) |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | University College London |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Doctoral advisor | Philip Hall |
| Known for | Algebra, concentrating in non-commutative rings |
| Notable awards | FRSSenior Berwick Prize (1974) |
Paul Moritz Cohn FRS (8 January 1924 – 20 April 2006) was Astor Professor of Mathematics at University College London, 1986-9, and author of many textbooks on algebra. His work was mostly in the area of algebra, especially non-commutative rings.
He was the only child of Jewish parents, James (or Jakob) Cohn, owner of an import business, and Julia (née Cohen), a schoolteacher.
Both of his parents were born in Hamburg, as were three of his grandparents. His ancestors came from various parts of Germany. His father fought in the German army in World War I; he was wounded several times and awarded the Iron Cross. A street in Hamburg is named in memory of his mother.
When he was born, his parents were living with his mother's mother in Isestraße. After her death in October 1925, the family moved to a rented flat in a new building in Lattenkamp, in the Winterhude quarter. He attended a kindergarten then, in April 1930, moved to Alsterdorfer Straße School. After a while, he had a new teacher, a National Socialist, who picked on him and punished him without cause. Thus in 1931 he moved to the Meerweinstraße School where his mother taught.
Following the rise of the Nazis in 1933, his father's business was confiscated and his mother dismissed. He moved to the Talmud-Tora-Schule, a Jewish school. In mid 1937, the family moved to Klosterallee. This was nearer the school, the synagogue and other pupils, being in the Jewish area. His German teacher was Dr. Ernst Loewenberg, the son of the poet Jakob Loewenberg.
On the night of 9/10 November 1938 (Kristallnacht), his father was arrested and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. He was released after four months, but told to emigrate. Cohn went to Britain in May 1939 on the Kindertransport to work on a chicken farm, and never saw his parents again. He corresponded regularly with them until late 1941. At the end of the War, he learned that they were deported to Riga on 6 December 1941 and never returned. At the end of 1941 the farm closed. He trained as a precision engineer, acquired a work permit and worked in a factory for 4½ years. He passed the Cambridge Scholarship Examination, and won an exhibition to Trinity College, Cambridge.
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