First Jewish Winner of the Abel Prize

Isadore M. Singer became the first Jewish recipient of the Abel Prize when he and Sir Michael Atiyah received the 2004 award. The Abel Prize’s official record names the two mathematicians as that year’s laureates for their discovery and proof of the index theorem, which connected topology, geometry and analysis and became fundamental across modern mathematics and theoretical physics. The prize had been established only shortly before: its first award was made in 2003, so Singer’s recognition came in the second award year. JWR’s chronology therefore compares the complete earlier Abel laureate field rather than relying only on Singer’s prominence. Biographical evidence documents Singer’s Polish Jewish immigrant family background. The award was formally presented on 25 May 2004, the date used by JWR as the record value for this achievement.