4-44. Felix Klein

Felix Klein (1849–1925) and Henri Poincaré exchanged numerous letters, mostly during the period from 12 June 1881 to 22 September 1882, which was one of intense mathematical activity for both men, in the new field of automorphic functions, and on the uniformization theorem. The letters from this period were edited in 1923 by N. E. Nörlund (1923), and reedited by Pierre Dugac, with French translations of Klein’s letters (Dugac, 1989).11endnote: 1 The twenty-six letters of the early Poincaré-Klein exchange were translated from French to English by Robert Burns; see Saint-Gervais (2016). Burns generously authorized the electronic edition of his translations on this website. Overviews of this celebrated exchange are found in Courant and Neugebauer (1926, 374–381), Fricke et al. (1923, 577–586), Dieudonné (1982), Gray and Walter (1997b); Gray (2000), Gray (2013, chap. 3), Rowe (2018, chap. 11) and Rowe (2024b).

During the two decades following their early exchange, Klein and Poincaré collaborated on an international project to index scientific publications. They exchanged several letters on this topic, and both participated in a meeting held in London in August, 1899 (Armstrong et al., 1899). Another, even more ambitious project was launched by Klein in the closing years of the nineteenth century: the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Sciences Including Applications. While the Encyclopedia took form in Germany, and was organized in line with German academic standards, it was considered by its organizers and collaborators to be an international endeavor, reflecting the notion that mathematical results, while obtained in various settings, are an international asset (Schappacher, 2022, 51). A French-language version of the encyclopedia was planned, led by Jules Molk, and several volumes were published.22endnote: 2 Molk’s death in 1914, and the subsequent outbreak of the First World War put a strain on the collaborative project, and after 1916, the French version of the encyclopedia was abandoned. For a comparison of the two versions of the encyclopedia, see Gispert (2001). Molk sollicited a contribution from Poincaré (§ 4-59-1) in 1901, but nothing came of it.

On Klein’s life and work, see the detailed biography by Tobies (2019), and on specific contributions, see Rowe (1986, 1992, 2013, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024c, 2024a) and Gray (1992, 2015).

Time-stamp: "28.10.2026 11:53"

Notes

  • 1 The twenty-six letters of the early Poincaré-Klein exchange were translated from French to English by Robert Burns; see Saint-Gervais (2016). Burns generously authorized the electronic edition of his translations on this website.
  • 2 Molk’s death in 1914, and the subsequent outbreak of the First World War put a strain on the collaborative project, and after 1916, the French version of the encyclopedia was abandoned. For a comparison of the two versions of the encyclopedia, see Gispert (2001).

References