en>John of Reading: Typo/general fixing, replaced: during 1980s → during the 1980s using AWB

2014-01-04T09:46:21Z

Typo/general fixing, replaced: during 1980s → during the 1980s using AWB

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{{Infobox scientist
|name = Theodore Motzkin
|birth_date = {{birth date|1908|03|26}}
|birth_place = [[Berlin]], [[Germany]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|1970|10|15|1908|03|26}}
|nationality = [[United States|American]]
|workplaces = [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]]
|alma_mater = [[University of Basel]]
|doctoral_advisor = [[Alexander Ostrowski]]
|doctoral_students = [[John Selfridge]]
|known_for = [[Motzkin transposition theorem]]<br />[[Motzkin number]]<br />[[principal ideal domain|PIDs]] that are not [[Euclidean domain|EDs]]<br/>[[Linear programming]]
}}
'''Theodore Samuel Motzkin''' (26 March 1908–15 December 1970) was an [[Israel]]i-[[United States|American]] [[mathematician]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Motzkin | first=Theodore S. | title=Theodore S. Motzkin: Selected papers |editor=David Cantor, [[Basil Gordon]], and Bruce Rothschild | series=Contemporary Mathematicians|publisher=Birkhäuser | location=Boston, Mass. | year=1983 | pages=xxvi+530 | isbn=3-7643-3087-2 | id=| mr=693096 | unused_data= }}</ref>

== Biography ==
Motzkin's father [[Leo Motzkin]], a [[Russian Jews|Russian Jew]], went to [[Berlin]] at the age of thirteen to study mathematics. He pursued university studies in the topic and was accepted as a graduate student by [[Leopold Kronecker]], but left the field to work for the [[Zionism|Zionist]] movement before finishing a dissertation.<ref name="mactutor">{{MacTutor Biography|id=Motzkin}}</ref>

Motzkin grew up in Berlin and started studying mathematics at an early age as well, entering university when was only 15.<ref name="mactutor"/> He received his [[Ph.D.]] in 1934 from the [[University of Basel]] under the supervision of [[Alexander Ostrowski]]<ref>{{MathGenealogy|id=46034}}</ref> for a thesis on the subject of [[linear programming]]<ref name="mactutor"/> (''Beiträge zur Theorie der linearen Ungleichungen'', "Contributions to the Theory of Linear Inequalities", 1936<ref name="debio">{{cite encyclopedia |author=Joachim Schwermer |title=Motzkin, Theodor Samuel |encyclopedia=Neue Deutsche Biographie |volume=18 |year=1997 |pages=231 ff. |url=http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd119439182.html}}</ref>).

In 1935, Motzkin was appointed to the [[Hebrew University]] in [[Jerusalem]], contributing to the development of mathematical terminology in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]].<ref name="debio"/> During [[World War II]], he worked as a [[cryptographer]] for the British government.<ref name="mactutor"/>

In 1948, Motzkin moved to the United States. After two years at [[Harvard University|Harvard]] and [[Boston College]], he was appointed at [[UCLA]] in 1950, becoming a professor in 1960.<ref name="debio"/> He worked there until his retirement.<ref name="mactutor"/>

Motzkin married Naomi Orenstein in Jerusalem. The couple had three sons:
* Aryeh Leo Motzkin - Orientalist
* Gabriel Motzkin - philosopher
* Elhanan Motzkin - mathematician

== Contributions to mathematics ==
Motzkin's dissertation contained an important contribution to the nascent theory of linear programming (LP), but its importance was only recognized after an English translation appeared in 1951. He would continue to play an important role in the development of LP while at UCLA.<ref name="debio"/> Apart from this, Motzkin published about diverse problems in [[algebra]], [[graph theory]], [[approximation theory]], [[combinatorics]], [[numerical analysis]], [[algebraic geometry]] and [[number theory]].<ref name="debio"/>

The [[Motzkin transposition theorem]], [[Motzkin number]]s and the [[Fourier–Motzkin elimination]] are named after Theodore Motzkin. He first developed the "double description" algorithm of [[polyhedral combinatorics]] and [[computational geometry]].<ref>
{{ cite book |last1=Motzkin|first1=T. S.|authorlink1=Theodore S. Motzkin|last2=Raiffa|first2=H.|authorlink2=Howard Raiffa|authorlink3=Gerald L. Thompson|last3=Thompson|first3=G. L.|last4=Thrall|first4=R. M.| chapter=The double description method| title=Contributions to the theory of games|issue=volume 2, number 28 |pages=51–73| series=Annals of Mathematics Studies|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, N. J.|year=1953|id=|mr=60202}}</ref> He was the first to prove the existence of [[principal ideal domain]]s that are not [[Euclidean domain]]s, <math>\Bbb{Z}\left[\frac{1+\sqrt{-19}}{2}\right]</math> being his first example.

The quote ''"complete disorder is impossible,"'' describing [[Ramsey theory]] is attributed to him.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Complete Disorder is Impossible: The Mathematical Work of Walter Deuber | author = Hans Jürgen Prömel | journal = Combinatorics, Probability and Computing | year = 2005 | volume = 14 | pages = 3–16 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | doi = 10.1017/S0963548304006674 }}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Cyclic polytope]]
* [[Pentagram map]]– related concept

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control|VIAF=2589792}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Motzkin, Theodore
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American mathematician
| DATE OF BIRTH = 26 March 1908
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Berlin]], [[Germany]]
| DATE OF DEATH = 15 October 1970
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motzkin, Theodore}}
[[Category:American mathematicians]]
[[Category:20th-century mathematicians]]
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:University of Basel alumni]]

{{US-mathematician-stub}}

Financial accelerator - Revision history

en>John of Reading: Typo/general fixing, replaced: during 1980s → during the 1980s using AWB