Alexander Grothendieck

Alexander Grothendieck, later Alexandre Grothendieck in French (/ˈɡroʊtəndiːk/; German: [ˌalɛˈksandɐ ˈɡʁoːtn̩ˌdiːk] ^ⓘ; French: [ɡʁɔtɛndik]; 28 March 1928 – 13 November 2014), was a German-born French mathematician who became the leading figure in the creation of modern algebraic geometry.^[7][8] His research extended the scope of the field and added elements of commutative algebra, homological algebra, sheaf theory, and category theory to its foundations, while his so-called "relative" perspective led to revolutionary advances in many areas of pure mathematics.^[7][9] He is considered by many to be the greatest mathematician of the twentieth century.^[10][11]

Grothendieck began his productive and public career as a mathematician in 1949. In 1958, he was appointed a research professor at the Institut des hautes études scientifiques (IHÉS) and remained there until 1970, when, driven by personal and political convictions, he left following a dispute over military funding. He received the Fields Medal in 1966 for advances in algebraic geometry, homological algebra, and K-theory.^[12] He later became professor at the University of Montpellier^[1] and, while still producing relevant mathematical work, he withdrew from the mathematical community and devoted himself to political and religious pursuits (first Buddhism and later, a more Catholic Christian vision).^[13] In 1991, he moved to the French village of Lasserre in the Pyrenees, where he lived in seclusion, still working on mathematics and his philosophical and religious thoughts until his death in 2014.^[14]