Felix Hausdorff: Mathematician, Philosopher, Man of Letters

Felix Hausdorff is a singular phenomenon in the history of science. As a mathematician, he played a major role in shaping the development of modern mathematics in the 20th century. He founded general topology as an independent mathematical discipline, while enriching set theory with a number of fundamental concepts and results. His general approach to measure and dimension led to profound developments in numerous mathematical disciplines, and today Hausdorff dimension plays a central role in fractal theory with its many fascinating applications by means of computer graphics. Hausdorff ’s remarkable mathematical versatility is reflected in his published work: today, no fewer than thirteen concepts, theorems and procedures carry his name. Yet he was not only a creative mathematician – Hausdorff was also an original philosophical thinker, a poet, essayist and man of letters. Under the pseudonym Paul Mongré, he published a volume of aphorisms, an epistemological study, abook of poetry, an oft-performed play, and a number of notable essays in leading literary journals. As a Jew, Felix Hausdorff was increasingly persecuted and humiliated under the National Socialist dictatorship. When deportation to a concentration camp was imminent, he, along with his wife and sister-in law, decided to take their own lives.