Imprisoned Mathematicians

Some prior posts discussed clergymen who were mathematicians (Bayes, Lemaitre); it's come to my attention that there are also many cases of imprisoned mathematicians. I'll just give three examples.

Galileo Galilei was placed under house arrest in the 17th century due to his support of the heliocentric view of the solar system. In seclusion he wrote Two New Sciences, which established required reading for future generations of engineers on the topics of kinematics and strength of materials.

Moving forward, during World War II, Jakow Trachtenberg was a Russian Jew imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. He survived the ordeal and during his imprisonment he developed a system of mental calculations, now known as the Trachtenberg System.

Most recently, Christopher Havens, serving 25 years for murder, published his work on continued fractions in the journal Research in Number Theory in January 2020. What makes his story interesting is that Havens mathematical ability was largely self-taught in prison. As he progressed in his studies, he reached out for tutoring and is earning a associate science degree from Adams State University by correspondence.

Perhaps the one favorable condition these mathematicians had during their imprisonment was the forced solitude which they put to good use. It's a good lesson as we all deal with the current solitude we face during the Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders.

(image: LIMSKO)