
Samuel Eilenberg
Wolf Prize Laureate in Mathematics 1986

The Mathematics Prize Committee for 1986 unanimously recommends that the Wolf Prize in Mathematics be shared jointly by Samuel Eilenberg and Atle Selberg.
Samuel Eilenberg
Columbia University
New York, N.Y., USA
“for his fundamental work in algebraic topology and homological algebra.”
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Professor Samuel Eilenberg began his mathematical education in the Polish School of point set topology, and has since made basic contributions to algebraic topology. Among his many seminal works are those in obstruction theory and in the creation of singular homology theory. His study of the relations between homology and homotopy is fundamental. He was one of the creators of the cohomology of groups and of the cohomology of Lie algebras and in fact of homological algebra. Each of these subjects has had many applications. His work has been central in several major developments of modern mathematics.
