02/02/2018

John Charles Fields (1863-1932): The History of the Fields Medal

Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields, best known as the founder of the Fields Medal and considered the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics," was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1863. The son of a leather goods store owner and a teacher, Fields began his studies in public schools in his hometown, always excelling in mathematics, which even earned him a gold medal for merit in the subject.

He graduated in Mathematics from the University of Toronto in 1884. He completed his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University (USA) in 1887, where he remained for two years as a professor at that institution.

Disillusioned with the state of mathematical research in North America, he went to Europe in 1891, initially settling in Berlin, Göttingen, and Paris, where he associated with some of the greatest mathematicians of his time, such as Karl Weierstrass, Felix Klein, Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, and Max Planck. It was also during this period that Fields began a lasting friendship with Magnus Gösta Mittag-Leffler and started publishing articles on a new topic—algebraic functions—which would become the most fruitful field of his career.

Returning to Canada in 1901 for a course at the University of Toronto, Fields worked diligently to raise the level of mathematics in the country. He was elected president of the Royal Canadian Institute (1919-1925) and directly responsible for Toronto hosting the 1924 International Congress of Mathematicians. He dedicated himself so much to this task that he ended up developing heart problems.

The mastermind behind the Fields Medal since the late 1920s, he did not live to see its realization. He died at the age of 69, on August 9, 1932, from a stroke. However, on his deathbed, he persuaded his Irish colleague John Lighton Synge to ensure that his will allocated $47,000 to the Fields Medal fund. And so it was done.

First awarded in 1936, the medal was reintroduced at the first International Military Conference (ICM) after the Second World War, in 1950, and has been awarded every four years since.