Abraham Fraenkel

Abraham Fraenkel was a German-born Israeli mathematician. He was born on February 17, 1891, and passed away on October 15, 1965.

Fraenkel was an early Zionist and helped create the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he became the first Dean of Mathematics.

Fraenkel is best known for his work in axiomatic set theory. He worked with another famous mathematician, Ernst Zermelo. Together, they created Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, which helps us understand the basic rules of numbers and sets in mathematics. His ideas are still used by mathematicians today.

Biography

Abraham Adolf Halevi Fraenkel studied mathematics at several universities in Germany, including Munich, Berlin, Marburg, and Breslau. He became a professor and taught at the University of Marburg. He later taught at the University of Kiel and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he was the first dean of the mathematics faculty.

Fraenkel supported Zionism and worked with important Jewish groups during the British mandate period. He also helped improve Jewish religious education.

Mathematician

Abraham Fraenkel was a mathematician. He studied special numbers called p-adic numbers and worked with rings. He is best known for his work on axiomatic set theory. In 1919, he wrote a big book called Einleitung in die Mengenlehre (Introduction to set theory). Later, he wrote papers to improve another mathematician's system. This helped create what we now call the Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms.

Fraenkel also liked to study the history of mathematics. He wrote about the work of Gauss in algebra and even wrote a biography about Georg Cantor. After retiring from the Hebrew University, he kept teaching at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv.

Awards

In 1956, Abraham Fraenkel received the Israel Prize for his work in exact sciences. This award recognized his important contributions to mathematics.

Published works

Abraham Fraenkel wrote many articles and books about mathematics. Some of his important works include:

• In 1919, he wrote Einleitung in die Mengenlehre (Introduction to Set Theory), which helped explain the ideas of set theory.
• In 1922, he published work on the foundations of mathematics, adding ideas to Ernst Zermelo's axioms, which helped create what we now call Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory.
• In 1927, he wrote Zehn Vorlesungen über die Grundlegung der Mengenlehre (Ten Lectures on the Foundations of Set Theory).
• In 1953, he wrote Abstract Set Theory, and in 1966, he wrote Set Theory and Logic.

His work helped shape how we understand mathematics today.