Who was Michael Atiyah? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Sir Michael Francis Atiyah

Died At Age: 89

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Lily Brown (m. 1955)

father: Edward Atiyah

mother: Jean Levens

Born Country: England

Mathematicians British Men

Died on: January 11, 2019

City: London, England

Notable Alumni: Victoria College, Alexandria

More Facts

education: Trinity College, Cambridge, Victoria College, Alexandria

awards: Fields Medal
Fellow of the Royal Society
Copley Medal

Abel Prize
Royal Medal
King Faisal International Prize
De Morgan Medal
Josiah Willard Gibbs Lectureship

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Childhood & Early Life

Michael Francis Atiyah was born in Hampstead, London, on 22 April 1929. His parents were Jean and Edward Atiyah. His mother was Scottish, while his father was Lebanese. He had three siblings named Patrick, Joe and Selma. He grew up in Sudan and Egypt. While in Sudan, he attended the Diocesan School, in Khartoum, and while in Egypt, he studied at the Victoria College in Cairo.

He eventually returned to England, where he continued his studies at Manchester Grammar School. He next did his national service with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He did his undergraduate and postgraduate studies from Trinity College, Cambridge. He studied Ph D under William V.D. Hodge. He received his doctorate in 1955, for his thesis `Some Applications of Topological Methods in Algebraic Geometry`.

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Academic Career

Michael Atiyah began his career at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and after a while, he returned to Cambridge University, where he became research fellow as well as an assistant lecturer. He next became a university lecturer as well as tutorial fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge. In 1961, he joined the University of Oxford, where he was a reader and professional fellow at St Catherine`s College till 1963.

He next became Savilian Professor of Geometry as well as professorial fellow at New College, Oxford. He served in this post till 1969. Atiyah next took up a three-year professorship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, US. After completing it, he returned to Oxford and became member of the Royal Society. He became a professorial fellow St Catherine`s College. From 1974 to 1976, he was also the president of the London Mathematical Society.

After few years, he founded the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, and was also its first director from 1990 to 1996. From 1995 to 2005, he was Chancellor of the University of Leicester. In 1997, he also became an honorary professor at the University of Edinburgh, and remained so till his death in 2019.

Works and Recognition

Michael Atiyah is notable for his work on K-theory, on which he also published a book. Topological K-theory was discovered by Atiyah and Friedrich Hirzebruch. They were inspired by Alexander Grothendieck`s proof of the Grothendieck-Riemann Roch theorem, as well as Raoul Bott`s work on the periodicity theorem. Along with Alexander Grothendieck, and Friedrich Hirzeburch (Hirzebruch), Atiyah became known as one of the pioneers in the development of the K-theory.

In 1966, he received the Fields Medal, for his remarkable work in developing the K-theory, as well as the Atiyah-Singer theorem, and a generalized Lefschetz fixed-point theorem. He has received several other honors throughout his career, such as the Royal Medal of the Royal Society, King Faisal International Prize for Science, De Morgan Medal of the London Mathematical Society and the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Medal of the Indian National Science Academy.

Michael Atiyah is also known for his work on the Atiyah-Singer index theorem, on which he collaborated with Isadore Singer. According to the theorem, for an elliptic differential operator on a compact manifold, the analytical index, is equal to the topological index. Throughout his career, many of his works also revolved around the gauge theory. A common theme that can be found in these works is the study of moduli spaces of solutions to certain non-linear partial differential equations.

Several of his works also study the connections that exist between quantum field theory, knots and the Donaldson theory.

Throughout his life, he was elected as foreign member of numerous universities, such as National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Irish Academy, the Indian National Science Academy and the Australian Academy of Science.

In 1983, he was also made a Knight Bachelor.

In 1992, he was made a member of the Order of Merit as well.

In 2011, he was also made a Grand Officier of the French Légion d'honneur.

Family & Personal Life

Michael Atiyah got married on 30th July 1955, to Lily Brown. The couple remained together till Lily`s death on 13 March 2018. They had three sons, who were named John, David and Robin.

Michael Atiyah passed away on 11 January 2019, at the age of 89.

Michael Atiyah Biography