Hirzebruch, Friedrich

Friedrich Hirzebruch was born on October 17, 1927 in Hamm, Germany. He studied mathematics at the University of MA1/4nster and the ETH ZA1/4rich, under Heinrich Behnke and Heinz Hopf.

Shortly after the award of his doctoral degree in 1950, he obtained an assistantship in Erlangen and then a membership at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, followed by an assistant professorship at Princeton University. In 1956 he returned to Germany to a chair at the University of Bonn, which he held until his retirement in 1993. Since 1980 he has been the Direc...