Stephen Arthur Jennings (May 11, 1915 – February 2, 1979) was a

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

who made contributions to the study of

modular representation theory Modular representation theory is a branch of mathematics, and is the part of representation theory that studies linear representations of finite groups over a field ''K'' of positive characteristic ''p'', necessarily a prime number. As well as ...

. His advisor was

Richard Brauer Richard Dagobert Brauer (February 10, 1901 – April 17, 1977) was a leading German and American mathematician. He worked mainly in abstract algebra, but made important contributions to number theory. He was the founder of modular represent ...

, and his student

Rimhak Ree Rimhak Ree (alternative spelling: Im-hak Ree, December 18, 1922 – January 9, 2005) was a Korean Canadian mathematician. He contributed in the field of group theory, most notably with the concept of the Ree group in . Early life Ree received h ...

discovered two infinite series of finite simple groups known as the

Ree group In mathematics, a Ree group is a group of Lie type over a finite field constructed by from an exceptional automorphism of a Dynkin diagram that reverses the direction of the multiple bonds, generalizing the Suzuki groups found by Suzuki using a dif ...

s. Jennings was an editor of

Mathematics Magazine ''Mathematics Magazine'' is a refereed bimonthly publication of the Mathematical Association of America. Its intended audience is teachers of collegiate mathematics, especially at the junior/senior level, and their students. It is explicitly a j ...

and an acting president of the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

Biography

Stephen was born in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with his family in 1928. He had been receiving scholarships in England and these were transferred to Canada. He finished his high school education in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and in September 1932 he went to University College in Toronto. In 1939 he received his PHD from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. He married Dorothy Freeda Rintoul (University of Western University - B.A. and University of Toronto M.A. Psychology) in 1939. On November 14, 1942 he became a Member of the

Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a f ...

fraternity. When he was made a professor, he was the youngest professor ever appointed in Canada. In 1944 Stephen was appointed 2nd Lieutenant (Paymaster) in Canadian Army. While in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, teaching at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, Stephen and Dorothy established their family, two children, Judith Anne Jennings and James Stephen Jennings. Stephen was Dean of Graduate Studies at the

and the Head of the Mathematics Department there.

Selected bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Stephen Arthur 1915 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Canadian mathematicians Group theorists University of Victoria faculty University of Toronto alumni English emigrants to Canada People from Walthamstow