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Izrail M. Gelfand

Mathematician and inaugural 1978 Wolf Prize in Mathematics co-laureate.

United States

Izrail M. Gelfand

Konrad Jacobs / Oberwolfach Photo Collection / Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC BY-SA 2.0 DE

Biography

Izrail Moiseevich Gelfand (1913–2009) was a major twentieth-century mathematician whose work shaped functional analysis, representation theory and many related fields. Mathematician and inaugural 1978 Wolf Prize in Mathematics co-laureate. In Jewish World Records, Izrail M. Gelfand is connected to the record “First Jewish Recipient of the Wolf Prize in Mathematics,” based on the stored achievement of 1978 — inaugural Wolf Prize in Mathematics (co-laureate). Gelfand shared the inaugural 1978 Wolf Prize in Mathematics with Carl L. The Wolf Foundation cited Gelfand for foundational work in functional analysis and group representation. Independent biographical evidence supports his Jewish identity, closing the eligibility gate for JWR. The Wolf Foundation names Izrail M. Gelfand as a 1978 Wolf Prize in Mathematics laureate, sharing the inaugural award with Carl L.

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Records held by Izrail M. Gelfand

Izrail M. Gelfand
JWR VerifiedFounding Record
AwardsFirst

First Jewish Recipient of the Wolf Prize in Mathematics

Record holder

Izrail M. Gelfand

Record value

10 April 1978

Mathematician Izrail M. Gelfand was among the inaugural Wolf Prize in Mathematics laureates in 1978. He shared the first mathematics award with Carl Ludwig Siegel. The first Wolf Prize presentation ceremony was scheduled for 10 April 1978 at the Knesset in Jerusalem; the American Mathematical Society's contemporary August 1978 report explicitly dates the award to 10 April and confirms the Knesset ceremony. Gelfand did not attend in person. A Jewish Telegraphic Agency report dated 12 April 1978 describes the ceremony as occurring “last night,” implying 11 April; this one-day discrepancy is retained as an editorial source note rather than hidden. For the canonical achievement date, JWR uses 10 April 1978 on the weight of the contemporary American Mathematical Society account and the pre-event announcement specifying 10 April. The Wolf Foundation's official winner list independently confirms Gelfand and Siegel as the inaugural 1978 mathematics co-laureates. Gelfand is the Jewish holder of this first-recipient record; the prize itself was shared, but Siegel is not included as a Jewish record holder. Sources: American Mathematical Society, Notices, August 1978, p. 332 (https://www.ams.org/journals/notices/197808/197808FullIssue.pdf); Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “Wolf Prizes Announced,” 23 February 1978 (https://www.jta.org/archive/wolf-prizes-announced); JTA, “Flap over Wolf Prize Winners,” 12 April 1978 (https://www.jta.org/archive/flap-over-wolf-prize-winners); Wolf Foundation laureate list (https://wolffund.org.il/izrali-m-gelfand/).

Country represented
United States / Soviet Union
Achievement location
Israel / United States
Achievement date
10 April 1978
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