Steenrod, Norman Earl, 1910-1971

Norman Earl Steenrod (1910-1971) was an algebraic topologist at Princeton University.

From the description of Steenrod, Norman Earl, Papers, 1911, 1948-1970. (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 19484896

Norman Earl Steenrod (1910-1971) was a central figure in the post World War II development of algebraic topology. Born in Dayton, Ohio, on April 22, 1910, Steenrod attended college at Miami University and the University of Michigan (A.B., 1932). At the University of Michigan, he took courses by Raymond Louis Wilder, who guided the preparation of Steenrod's first two published papers (1934). After taking an M.A. at Harvard University (1934), Steenrod earned his Ph.D. with Solomon Lefschetz at Princeton University (1936). Steenrod returned to Princeton permanently after short periods on the faculties of the University of Chicago (1939-1942) and the University of Michigan (1942-1947). He died in Princeton on October 14, 1971.

Steenrod's research was in algebraic topology. His Foundations of Algebraic Topology (1952), written with Samuel Eilenberg, gave a system of axioms providing a framework for the rapidly developing field of homology theory. Steenrod's The Topology of Fibre Bundles (1951) furnished a systematic treatment of the previously disorganized field of bundle theory and an influential account of homotopy theory. Steenrod's study of homology classification led to his work on cohomology operations, in particular to the Steenrod algebra.

Source: Whitehead, G. W., "Norman Earl Steenrod, April 22, 1910-October 14, 1971." National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs, 55: 453-470 (1985).

From the guide to the Norman Earl Steenrod Papers 86-30., 1911, 1948-1970, (Archives of American Mathematics, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)