Mathematicians who never were (Q1670964)

Nicolas Bourbaki is a well-known name of a fictious mathematician (in fact, the pseudonym of a group of mathematicians), who nevertheless had a major influence on the 20th-century mathematics. The author of the present article documents that Bourbaki was by no means the only fictious author of publications in mathematics or physics. Other examples include E. S. Pondiczery, Hector Pétard, Boo Barkee, F. D. C. Willard, and Shalosh B. Ekhad. Each name is accompanied by a short story describing circumstances that led to the creation of the character.