1763 - Borel, E.

Borel, E. Memoir on Divergent Series. Paris: Gauthiers-Villars, 1899. In: Annales Scientifiques de l'École Normale Supérieure, published under the auspices of the Minister of Public Instruction. Third Series, Volume 16, Year 1899. pp. 137–138, 9–136. Bound at the time. First edition, with a handwritten dedication from the author: “Monsieur G. Mittag-Leffler, Respectful homage, Emile Borel.” Signed by Borel.”—Emile Borel (1871–1956) was, like Jacques Hadamard, the most important French mathematician of the first decade of the 20th century. He became a professor at the Sorbonne in 1909. In addition to his prolific mathematical work, he was active in politics, science outreach, and journalism; he served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies (1924–1936) as a radical socialist and held the office of Minister of the Navy (1925–1940). His mathematical work focused primarily on complex analysis, where he demonstrated the power of ideas from Cantor’s set theory in classical theory and probability, and advocated for a traditional view of the subject in opposition to Kolmogorov’s new axiomatic approach. He also wrote on game theory, independently of von Neumann’s much better-known work on the subject. Early publication by Émile Borel. – 23.