Shiing-Shen Chern's centenary (Q1758337): Difference between revisions

This contribution is published in \textit{Results in Mathematics}, a journal which was edited by Chern during the years 1984 to 2004. The authors present a very detailed analysis of Chern's relationship with Germany. In the beginning, an answer is given to the question why Chern had chosen Hamburg and not Göttingen, which was still famous for its mathematical department. Chern had heard lectures in Beijing which were given by Wilhelm Blaschke and Emanuel Sperner, who were guest professors there. In Hamburg, Erich Hecke, Wilhelm Blaschke and Emil Artin were the most important mathematicians; of great importance was the journal \textit{Abhandlungen des mathematischen Seminars der Hamburgischen/Hansischen Universität} (Vol. 1 in 1922). Chern was student in Hamburg from 1934 to 1936 and finished there his thesis with Blaschke as his supervisor. Chern also became a close friend of Erich Kähler who celebrated the publication of his famous book \textit{Einführung in die Theorie der Systeme der Differentialgleichungen} in 1934. After his graduation Chern left Hamburg and continued his studies in Paris, where Élie Cartan became his main advisor. However, Chern stayed in close relationship with Hamburg and returned several times. In 1971, Chern was awarded the doctor honoris causa from the University of Hamburg. In 1972, Chern was in Hamburg because there was a `Festkolloquium' in his honour. In 1981, Chern was awarded the Humboldt Price and spent the summers of 1982 and 1984 in Germany, especially in Bonn, Hamburg and Berlin. In 1981, Chern gave some talks in Hamburg and helped to edit and organize the publication of Blaschke's collected works, which were published in 1985. In 1983, Chern was present in Hamburg when Blaschke's centenary was celebrated. In 2001, Chern was honoured with the Blaschke medal in Hamburg. In the same year, Chern got the honorary doctor's degree from the TU Berlin. In October 2001, there took place a ceremony at Nankai University in Tianjin, where the Blaschke medal and the TU document were presented. There had been more than thousand visitors at this ceremony. In 2001, a Festschrift was published in the journal \textit{Results in Mathematics}, where 27 mathematicians contributed. Chern died on December 3, 2004 in Tianjin. It is a pleasure to read this article, which is accompanied with many remarkable photos and copies of documents.