About George David Birkhoff
George David Birkhoff was one of the top American mathematicians of his generation. He made valuable contributions to the theory of differential equations, dynamical systems, the four-color problem, the three-body problem, and general relativity. Today, Birkhoff is best remembered for the ergodic theorem. The George D. Birkhoff House, his residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The George David Birkhoff Prize in applied mathematics is awarded jointly by the American Mathematical Society and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics in his honor. Birkhoff was part of a generation of American mathematicians who were the first to study entirely within the United States and not participate in academics within Europe. In 1923, he was awarded the inaugural Bôcher Memorial Prize by the American Mathematical Society for his paper in 1917 containing, among other things, what is now called the Birkhoff curve shortening process.
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