Zur Geschichte des Mathematischen Instituts der Universität Freiburg (Schweiz)

Abstract

The story of the development of the Institute of Mathematics of the University of Fribourg begins 1896 when Mathias Lerch and Matthieu Franz Daniëls were nominated professors at the newly founded Faculty of Science. There is a long list of mathematicians who spent their career, or at least part of it, in Fribourg. Many began their professional activity in Fribourg and changed later to greener meadows at another university. Some spent only their last few active years at the Fribourg Mathematics Department. However they all left their traces and helped to put Fribourg on the mathematical map. Among the former was Michel Plancherel who was one of the great Swiss mathematician of the 20th century. He held a position in Fribourg from 1911 to 1921. Among the latter I should mention Peter Thullen who in his youth was already a distinguished mathematician in the field of complex analysis. He emigrated 1933 from Germany to Italy and then to South America where he changed his research to statistics and became an expert in Social Security. He held the position of professor of mathematical statistics in Fribourg from 1972 until his retirement in 1976.