4-24. Walther von Dyck
Walther Dyck (1856–1934) was the son of Marie Royko and Hermann Dyck, first director of the Munich Kunstgewerbeschule. He attended the universities of Munich, Berlin and Leipzig, and wrote a thesis on Riemann surfaces under the direction of Felix Klein in Munich, which he defended in 1879.
When Klein accepted the chair in geometry in Leipzig, Dyck became his assistant, and he obtained his Habilitation there. As Dyck explained in his letter to Poincaré of 12 January, 1884 (§ 4-24-1), Munich Polytechnic offered him the chair previously held by Jakob Lüroth. Dyck accepted the offer, and remained in Munich for the duration of his career. He was named director of the Polytechnic in 1900, and was instrumental to its transformation into a technische Hochschule. Dyck also served as rector, from 1903 to 1906, and from 1919 to 1925. In recognition of his service to the state, Dyck was ennobled in 1901, thereby becoming Ritter von Dyck.
Dyck first met Poincaré, along with a number of other leading lights in French mathematics (Picard, Appell, Darboux), in early 1883, during a six-week visit to Paris. Correspondence between to the two men was inaugurated by Dyck in January, 1883, but only four letters have been located, all from Dyck, and all from a two year-period (1883–1885).11endnote: 1 On the life and science of Walther von Dyck, see Hofmann (1971), and the detailed biography by Hashagen (2003).
Time-stamp: "22.08.2022 20:37"
References
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Volume 4: Richard Dedekind–Firmicus Maternus. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. Cited by: J. E. Hofmann (1971).
- Walther von Dyck (1856–1934): Mathematik, Technik und Wissenschaftsorganisation an der TH München. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart. Cited by: endnote 1.
- Dyck, Walther Franz Anton von. See Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Volume 4: Richard Dedekind–Firmicus Maternus, Gillispie, pp. 268–269. Cited by: endnote 1.