Arthur Erdélyi facts for kids

Arthur Erdélyi FRS, FRSE (October 2, 1908 – December 12, 1977) was a brilliant Hungarian-born British mathematician. He was a top expert in an area of math called special functions, especially orthogonal polynomials and hypergeometric functions.

About Arthur Erdélyi

Early Life and Education

Arthur Erdélyi was born Arthur Diamant in Budapest, Hungary. His parents were Ignác Josef Armin Diamant and Frederike Roth. Later, his mother remarried Paul Erdélyi, and his name was changed to Erdélyi.

He went to school in Budapest from 1914 to 1926. This is when he first became very interested in mathematics. Because of challenges faced by people of his background in Hungary at the time, it was hard for him to go to university there. So, he traveled to Brno, Czechoslovakia, to study electrical engineering.

However, during his first year, his amazing talent for math was noticed. He even won several prizes in a math competition! Because of this, people encouraged him to switch his studies to mathematics.

Starting His Math Career

Soon after, Arthur Erdélyi began doing advanced math research. His very first paper was published in 1930. By the end of 1936, he had already published 18 papers. Another 11 papers came out in 1937.

But difficult times were ahead. Due to the German occupation of Czechoslovakia and nearby countries, Erdélyi had to leave the country for his safety.

Moving to Scotland and America

Erdélyi reached out to Edmund Whittaker, another expert in special math functions. Whittaker helped him get a visa and some money to travel. Soon, Erdélyi moved to Edinburgh, Scotland.

He joined the University of Edinburgh. After two years, he became a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics. He earned a special degree called a DSc in 1940, based on all the important work he had already published.

In 1946, a famous mathematician named Harry Bateman passed away. Whittaker was asked to suggest someone who could help publish Bateman's unfinished math papers. Erdélyi was chosen for this big project, known as the Bateman Manuscript Project.

In 1947, Erdélyi became a British citizen. He then traveled to Caltech in California, USA, as a visiting professor. He returned to Edinburgh in 1948, but then decided to move back to Caltech in 1949. There, he became a Professor of Mathematics. He stayed in this job for 15 years, always keeping his British citizenship.

Return to Edinburgh

In 1964, Arthur Erdélyi moved back to Edinburgh. He became a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh again. He held this important position until he passed away in 1977. He died in Edinburgh.

Family Life

Arthur Erdélyi married Eva Neuburg in 1942. They did not have any children.

His Math Discoveries

Arthur Erdélyi was mainly an expert in special functions. These are particular types of mathematical equations that are very important in many areas of science and engineering. He was especially good at Lamé functions, hypergeometric functions, and orthogonal polynomials.

He also made important contributions to other math areas, including:

• asymptotic analysis: a way to understand how functions behave when numbers get very, very large.
• fractional integration: a type of math that deals with "fractional" powers of operations, not just whole numbers.
• partial differential equations: equations that involve functions of several variables and their rates of change.

He even created something called the Erdélyi–Kober operators, which are used in fractional integration.

Arthur Erdélyi wrote two very important books:

• Asymptotic Expansions (published in 1955)
• Operational Calculus and Generalised Functions (published in 1962)

These books are still highly respected and used by mathematicians today.

Awards and Honors

Arthur Erdélyi received many honors for his work.

• In 1945, he became a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
• In 1975, he was elected a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the United Kingdom.
• He was also chosen as a member of the Academy of Sciences of Turin.