German mathematicians in exile in Turkey: Richard von Mises, William Prager, Hilda Geiringer, and their impact on Turkish mathematics (Q714047)

The authors give an overview about the development of mathematics and the mathematical institute at Istanbul University founded on August 1, 1933. They stress especially the role of German scientists in shaping the university reform in Turkey and the restructuring of mathematical research, followed by a sketch of the founding of the Institute of Mathematics at Istanbul University and the influence of the report, written for the Turkish Ministry by R. Courant, J. Franck and M. Born. After this the authors describe the staff structure at the Mathematical Institute, the salaries, the working conditions, and the teaching activities of the institute members, putting the emigrants R. von Mises, W. Prager and H. Geiringer in the centre of their considerations. Analysing the publications of these three mathematicians, the authors show their impact on the mathematical research at the institute and demonstrate that applied mathematics and mechanics became central fields of research and training at Istanbul University in particular and in Turkey in general. A special role played the PhD students of the above named mathematicians that got a university position later on. Furthermore, the establishment of these two fields of research at Istanbul Technical University, founded in 1944, and the shift of Istanbul University's mathematical institute to a centre of pure mathematics after the time of von Mises, Prager, Geiringer and Erim is discussed. Summarizing the impact of von Mises, Prager, and Geiringer and the appreciation of their work, the authors argue that Prager contributed most to the development of Turkish mathematics and should therefore deserve the same acknowledgement as von Mises. The article is supplemented by an extensive list of references and three appendices of Prager's and Geiringer's publications during their stay in Istanbul and of von Mises' articles that influenced mathematicians in Turkey.