Saunders mclane a mathematics autobiography

American mathematician (–)

Saunders Mac Lane (August 4, – April 14, ), born Leslie Saunders MacLane, was an American mathematician who co-founded category theory with Samuel Eilenberg.

Early life and education

Mac Lane was born in Norwich, Connecticut, near where his family lived in Taftville.^[4] He was christened "Leslie Saunders MacLane", but "Leslie" fell into disuse because his parents, Donald MacLane and Winifred Saunders, came to dislike it. He began inserting a space into his surname because his first wife funnen it difficult to type the name without a space.^[5] He was the eldest of three brothers; one of his brothers, Gerald MacLane, also became a mathematics professor at Rice University and Purdue University. Another sister died as a baby. His father and grandfather were both ministers; his grandfather had been a Presbyterian, but was kicked out of the church for believing in evolution, and his father was a Congregatio

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Quick Info

Born

4 August
Norwich, Connecticut, USA

Died

14 April
San Francisco, California, USA

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Summary

Saunders Mac Lane was an American mathematician who worked in cohomology and category theory, but who is best known for the algebra book he wrote with Garrett Birkhoff.

Biography

Saunders Mac Lane came from a Scottish family who fled from Scotland after the Battle of Culloden in His grandfather, William Ward McLane was born in Lewisville, Pennsylvania in , became a Presbyterian Minister but was forced to leave the Church after preaching the theory of evolution. He became a pastor in the Congregational Church and the eldest son from his second marriage, Donald Bradford McLane, was born 19 January in Steubenville. Donald married Winifred Saunders, the eldest daughter of George Aretas Saunders, in Winifred was a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and taught English, Latin and Mathematics at High School before her marriage. After his marriage, Donald became a C

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Saunders Mac Lane's books

1. Homology (), by Saunders Mac Lane.

From the Preface.

In presenting this treatment of homological algebra, it is a pleasure to acknowledge the help and encouragement which I have had from all sides. Homological algebra arose from many sources in algebra and topology. Decisive examples came from the study of group extensions and their factor sets, a subject I learned in joint work with Otto Schilling. A further development of homological ideas, with a view to their topological applications, came in my long collaboration with Samuel Eilenberg; to both collaborators, especial thanks. For many years the Air Force Office of Scientific Research supported my research projects on various subjects now summarized here; it is a pleasure to acknowledge their lively understanding of basic science. Both Reinhold Baer and Josef Schmid read and commented on my entire manuscript; their advice has led to many improvements. My wife, Dorothy, has cheerfully typed m