Emil Artin
A master of the structural language of modern algebra
Emil Artin was a leading twentieth-century mathematician from a family of Armenian descent. Born in Vienna in 1898, he spent important years of his research career in Hamburg. He moved to the United States in 1937 and later taught at Princeton.
His work profoundly influenced algebraic number theory and the study of fields and rings. Artin’s reciprocity law is a central result of class field theory. In 1927 he solved Hilbert’s seventeenth problem, and he also developed the algebraic theory of braids.
Alongside research, Artin had a lasting influence as a teacher. His lectures, books and students spread an approach centred on clear explanations of mathematical structure. He died in Hamburg in 1962. Concepts bearing his name continue to connect the study of numbers, symmetry and geometric forms.