If you’re deep into mathematics, you may have run into the name “Grothendieck,” if only because of Grothendieck topology. As with everything, however, the title has a story, and this one roots back to a man named Alexander Grothendieck – a German born mathematician who revolutionized modern concepts of algebra based geometry.
Grothendieck was the child of Alexander Shapiro and Johanna Grothendieck, both anarchists who broke from their religious backgrounds during their early adulthood. While Alexander was originally born with the first name “Raddatz” due to his mother’s first marriage, it was soon revealed that Shapiro was the father, so Alexander adopted his mother’s last name. He lived with them only until the age of five, at which time he shifted to the care of Wilhelm Heydorn, who saw to his education.
While Alexander’s Jewish father died at Auschwitz during World War II, Alexander himself lived safely with his mother in France, residing in camps for displaced persons for a time, following which he took up secret residence in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon village. While there, he attended the secondary school Cévenol, where he first became interested in mathematics.
By the end of his secondary education, Alexander was certain that mathematics was the appropriate course for his life, so he traveled to Montpellier to attend University and continue his studies. He decided to teach mathematics because he was told that all the math problems had already been solved earlier in the century. His creative mind, definite talent, and friends prompted him to change his course and go to Paris to see if there were any new answerless questions in the field.
He spent time in Paris and subsequently at the University of Nancy studying vector topology mathematics. Within a few years, he became the leading expert on the subject. From there, he moved on to more in-depth research on a variety of other topics, beginning a career lined with discoveries and mathematic paradigm shifts.
Grothendeick left the mathematic community, partially for political reasons, but continued to write until 1991, when he retired and withdrew from the public eye. As of this writing (August, 2010) he is still alive.