Karel deLeeuw, or de Leeuw ( – ), was a mathematics professor at Stanford University, specializing in harmonic analysis and

functional analysis Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure (e.g. inner product, norm, topology, etc.) and the linear functions defined o ...

Life and career

Born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, he attended the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, earning a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in 1950. He stayed at Chicago to earn an

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in mathematics in 1951, then went to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, where he obtained a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in 1954. His thesis, titled "The relative cohomology structure of formations", was written under the direction of Emil Artin. After first teaching mathematics at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, he joined the Stanford University faculty in 1957, becoming a full professor in 1966. During sabbaticals and leaves he also spent time at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

and at Churchill College, Cambridge (where he was a

Fulbright Fellow The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

). He was also a Member-at-Large of the Council of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

Death and legacy

DeLeeuw was murdered by

Theodore Streleski Theodore Landon "Ted" Streleski (b. 1936) is an American former graduate student in mathematics at Stanford University who murdered his former faculty advisor, Professor Karel de Leeuw, with a ball-peen hammer on August 18, 1978. Shortly after the ...

, a Stanford doctoral student for 19 years, whom he briefly advised. DeLeeuw's widow Sita deLeeuw was critical of media coverage of the crime, saying, "The media, in their eagerness to give Streleski a forum, become themselves accomplices in the murder—giving Streleski what he wanted in the first place." A memorial lecture series was established in 1978 by the Stanford Department of Mathematics to honor deLeeuw's memory.

Selected publications

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:DeLeeuw, Karel 20th-century American mathematicians Mathematical analysts Stanford University Department of Mathematics faculty Princeton University alumni Dartmouth College faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty People from Chicago 1930 births 1978 deaths People murdered in California Deaths by beating in the United States Illinois Institute of Technology alumni Mathematicians from Illinois American textbook writers