4-42-39. H. Poincaré à Felix Klein

[After 13 Oct. 1904]

Mon cher Collègue,

J’apprends par Darboux que le prix Bolyai vient de m’être décerné; je tiens à vous remercier de la part que vous avez prise personnellement à cette décision.11endnote: 1 The Bolyai Prize of the Hungarian Academy of Science was officially awarded to Poincaré on 18 April 1905 (Lebon, 1912, 19). The jury was composed of Gyula König, Gusztáv Rados, Felix Klein, and Gaston Darboux, who presided. It decided in favor of Poincaré on 13 October 1904, according to Rados’ published report (which indicates the date as 13 Oct. 1901). Klein was chosen to write the report on the two candidates, David Hilbert and Poincaré, but according to Rados (1906) he renounced his duties, citing poor health, and was replaced by Rados. Klein wrote to Poincaré to explain the situation on or after 16 June, 1906 (§ 4-42-40); see also Poincaré’s reply (§ 4-42-41), and Rados’ report, published in April, 1906. On the origins of the Bolyai Prize, see Barna Szénássy, “Contributions to the history of the Bolyai-Prize”, 1995. Szénássy notes that Poincaré sent a letter to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences expressing his gratitude for the Bolyai Prize.

Veuillez, je vous prie, présenter à Madame Klein mes respectueux hommages et croire à mes sentiments dévoués,

Poincaré

ALS 1p. Nachlass Klein, Handscriftenabteilung, Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, Göttingen. Edited by Dugac (1989, 124).

Time-stamp: "17.05.2026 14:32"

Notes

  • 1 The Bolyai Prize of the Hungarian Academy of Science was officially awarded to Poincaré on 18 April 1905 (Lebon, 1912, 19). The jury was composed of Gyula König, Gusztáv Rados, Felix Klein, and Gaston Darboux, who presided. It decided in favor of Poincaré on 13 October 1904, according to Rados’ published report (which indicates the date as 13 Oct. 1901). Klein was chosen to write the report on the two candidates, David Hilbert and Poincaré, but according to Rados (1906) he renounced his duties, citing poor health, and was replaced by Rados. Klein wrote to Poincaré to explain the situation on or after 16 June, 1906 (§ 4-42-40); see also Poincaré’s reply (§ 4-42-41), and Rados’ report, published in April, 1906. On the origins of the Bolyai Prize, see Barna Szénássy, “Contributions to the history of the Bolyai-Prize”, 1995. Szénássy notes that Poincaré sent a letter to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences expressing his gratitude for the Bolyai Prize.

Références

  • P. Dugac (1989) Henri Poincaré, la correspondance avec des mathématiciens (de J à Z). Cahiers du séminaire d’histoire des mathématiques 10, pp. 83–229. External Links: Link Cited by: 4-42-39. H. Poincaré à Felix Klein.
  • E. Lebon (1912) Henri Poincaré : Biographie, bibliographie analytique des écrits. Gauthier-Villars, Paris. External Links: Link Cited by: endnote 1.
  • G. Rados (1906) Rapport sur le Prix Bolyai. Bulletin des sciences mathématiques 11, pp. 103–128. External Links: Link Cited by: endnote 1.