Goro Shimura facts for kids

Gorō Shimura (志村 五郎, Shimura Gorō, 23 February 1930 – 3 May 2019) was a famous Japanese mathematician. He was a professor at Princeton University. Shimura worked on special areas of math like number theory and automorphic forms.

He is well-known for creating ideas like "complex multiplication of abelian varieties" and "Shimura varieties." He also helped propose the Taniyama–Shimura conjecture. This important idea later helped prove Fermat's Last Theorem, a very old math puzzle.

Life Story of Gorō Shimura

Gorō Shimura was born in Hamamatsu, Japan, on 23 February 1930. He loved mathematics from a young age. He studied at the University of Tokyo. He earned his first degree in math in 1952. Later, he received his advanced science degree in math in 1958.

After finishing his studies, Shimura started teaching at the University of Tokyo. He also spent time working in other countries. He lived in Paris for ten months. He also worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton for seven months.

He then returned to Tokyo and married Chikako Ishiguro. Later, he moved to Osaka University to teach. However, he was not happy with the funding for his research. So, he decided to look for a job in the United States.

Through another famous mathematician, André Weil, Shimura got a position at Princeton University. He joined the Princeton faculty in 1964. He taught there until he retired in 1999. During his time at Princeton, he guided over 28 students who were getting their advanced degrees.

Shimura received many important awards for his work. These included the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1970. He also won the Cole Prize for number theory in 1977. In 1991, he received the Asahi Prize. For his lifetime achievements, he was given the Steele Prize in 1996.

Shimura had a special way of doing math. He called his approach "phenomenological." This meant he liked to find new and interesting patterns in math. He also believed in a "romantic" way of doing math. He felt that younger mathematicians sometimes lacked this passion.

He had a unique research routine. In the mornings, he would work on new ideas at one desk in his home. In the afternoons, he would use a second desk to make his papers perfect.

Gorō Shimura and his wife Chikako had two children, Tomoko and Haru. Shimura passed away on 3 May 2019, in Princeton, New Jersey. He was 89 years old.

Shimura's Important Math Work

Shimura worked closely with his friend Yutaka Taniyama. Together, they wrote the first book about "complex multiplication of abelian varieties." They also came up with the Taniyama–Shimura conjecture. This idea connects two different areas of math: elliptic curves and modular forms.

Shimura then wrote many important papers. He expanded on ideas about "complex multiplication" and "modular forms" to higher dimensions. This led to the idea of "Shimura varieties." His work helped mathematicians test big theories like the Langlands program.

In 1958, Shimura improved on earlier work by Martin Eichler. He showed a connection between "local L-functions" and "Hecke operators." In 1959, he further developed Eichler's work. This work was later used by Pierre Deligne to prove the Weil conjectures.

In 1971, Shimura proved something called "Shimura's reciprocity law." This was part of his work on "class field theory." In 1973, he found the "Shimura correspondence." This showed a link between different types of modular forms.

One of Shimura's most famous contributions was the Taniyama–Shimura conjecture. He first thought of this idea in the 1950s. This conjecture became very important for proving Fermat's Last Theorem. In 1990, Kenneth Ribet proved a key part of this conjecture. This showed that if the conjecture was true, then Fermat's Last Theorem must also be true.

When Andrew Wiles finally proved the main part of the conjecture in 1995, it meant Fermat's Last Theorem was solved! Shimura famously said his first reaction was, "I told you so." This showed he always believed in the importance of his work.

Other Hobbies and Interests

Besides math, Gorō Shimura had other interesting hobbies. He enjoyed solving very long shogi (a Japanese board game similar to chess) problems. He also loved collecting Imari porcelain. This is a type of beautiful antique Japanese pottery.

He even wrote a non-fiction book about his passion. The book is called The Story of Imari: The Symbols and Mysteries of Antique Japanese Porcelain. It was published in 2008 and shares his knowledge from over 30 years of collecting.

Books by Gorō Shimura

Gorō Shimura wrote many important mathematical books. Here are some of his non-fiction books:

• The Story of Imari: The Symbols and Mysteries of Antique Japanese Porcelain (2008)
• The Map of My Life (2008) - This book is about his life story.