Graham Higman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Graham Higman
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| Born |
Graham Higman
19 January 1917 Louth, Lincolnshire, England
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| Died | 8 April 2008 (aged 91) Oxford, England
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| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Known for | Higman group Higman's embedding theorem Higman's lemma HNN extension Higman–Sims group Hall–Higman theorem |
| Awards | Senior Berwick Prize (1962) LMS De Morgan Medal (1974) Sylvester Medal (1979) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics, Group theory |
| Institutions | University of Oxford |
| Doctoral advisor | J. H. C. Whitehead |
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Graham Higman (born January 19, 1917, died April 8, 2008) was a very important English mathematician. He was especially known for his work in a field of math called group theory. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a big honor for scientists.
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About Graham Higman
Graham Higman was born in Louth, Lincolnshire, England. He went to Sutton High School in Plymouth. He was a very bright student and won a special scholarship to attend Balliol College, Oxford, which is a famous university.
His Time at Oxford
In 1939, while still a student, Graham Higman helped start a group called The Invariant Society. This was a club for students who loved mathematics. He earned his advanced degree, called a DPhil, from the University of Oxford in 1941. His main project for this degree was about "The units of group-rings." His teacher for this project was J. H. C. Whitehead.
Later, from 1960 to 1984, Higman became a special professor at Magdalen College, Oxford. His title was the Waynflete Professor of Pure Mathematics. This is a very respected position in the world of mathematics.
Awards and Achievements
Graham Higman received several important awards for his work in mathematics. In 1962, he won the Senior Berwick Prize. Then, in 1974, he was given the De Morgan Medal by the London Mathematical Society. These awards show how much his work was valued by other mathematicians.
He also started a science magazine called the Journal of Algebra. He was the editor of this magazine for many years, from 1964 to 1984.
Graham Higman was also a dedicated teacher. He guided 51 students who were working on their DPhil degrees. Some of his well-known students include Jonathan Lazare Alperin, Rosemary A. Bailey, Marston Conder, John Mackintosh Howie, and Peter M. Neumann.
Life During Wartime
During the Second World War, Graham Higman chose not to join the military. Instead, he worked for the Meteorological Office. This office studies the weather. He worked in places like Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. He was also a local preacher for the Methodist Church in Oxford.
Graham Higman passed away in Oxford in 2008.
Related Math Topics
Here are some math ideas and groups that are connected to Graham Higman's work:
- Higman–Sims group: This is a special math group. It's named after another mathematician, Donald G. Higman, but Graham Higman also studied it.
- Higman's embedding theorem
- Feit-Higman theorem
- Higman group
- Higman's lemma
- HNN extension
- Hall–Higman theorem
