The double life of Felix Hausdorff/Paul Mongré (Q647143): Difference between revisions

The paper provides a comprehensive survey of life and work of Felix Hausdorff focussing on his two faces as a successful writer and an ingenious mathematician, working on a wide variety of fields, but famous for his pioneering work in set theory. The paper gives an overview of Hausdorff's life, beginning with his childhood in a Jewish business family in Breslau., his education and his professional life. For his activities as a writer Hausdorff choose the pseudonym Paul Mongré derived from the French ``à mon gré'', after my own taste, which reflects, according to the author, ``an individuality, spiritual autonomy, and a rejection of prejudices and conformity in political, social, religious, or other spheres of human affairs'' (p.\ 39). The author pays special attention to Hausdorff's book of aphorisms ``Sant' Ilario. Gedanken aus der Landschaft Zarathustras'' (1897), his epistemological study ``Das Chaos in kosmischer Auslese'' (1898), and his successful one-act play ``Der Arzt seiner Ehre'' (1904) which got more than 300 performances between 1904 and 1912. In his presentation of Hausdorff, the mathematician, the author concentrates on his contributions to set theory, as presented, e.g., in his seminal [Grundzüge der Mengenlehre. Leipzig: Veit \& Comp. (1914; JFM 45.0123.01)] and the completely reworked second edition, published under the title [Mengenlehre. 285 S. mit 12 Fig. Berlin, Walter de Gruyter \& Co. (Göschens Lehrbücherei Gruppe I Band 7) (1927; JFM 53.0169.01)]. The author uncovers interesting information on the reception of these books and about the role of the Polish journal ``Fundamenta Mathematicae''. The last pages are devoted to Hausdorff's tragic end. He had retired in 1935 from his professorship in Bonn. In January 1942 he, his wife and his wife's sister were deported to an internment camp in Bonn-Endenich which was used to be the starting point for transportation to the extinction camps in the East. On 26 January 1942 they committed suicide.