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William Hodge
Times obituary
A distinguished mathematician
Professor Sir William Hodge, FRS, SCD, FRSE, who was Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry and Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, from 1958 to 1970, has died at the age of 72.
One of the leading mathematicians of his time, he also played a prominent part both nationally and internationally in the mathematical and scientific world.
William Vallance Douglas Hodge was born in Edinburgh in 1903. He was educated at George Watson's College and Edinburgh University before going on to St. John's College, Cambridge. There he took the Mathematical Tripos and a few years later won the Smith's Prize. With the exception of five years as a lecturer at Bristol and one year at Princeton, the rest of his working life was spent in Cambridge. After holding a research fellowship at St. John's, he became a staff fellow of Pembroke until 1936, when he succeeded H. F. Baker as Lown Dean Professor. He remained a fellow of Pembroke and in 1958 he was elected Master.
The title of Astronomy in Hodge's Chair had been nominal for some time, and his mathematical contributions were in the field of Algebraic Geometry. His work here was of a genuinely pioneering kind, and the theory of harmonic integrals, which was his main contribution to mathematics, has had a significant influence on the development of geometry over the past 30 years. When Hodge first came to Cambridge, geometry, as practiced by the Baker school, was in danger of becoming fossilized and cut off from the rest of mathematics. Hodge revitalized the subject by emphasizing and developing its relationship with analysis and topology. In doing this, he helped steer British mathematics back into the mainstream.
Hodge's work was in the great tradition of Riemann and Poincaré, but his more immediate inspiration came from the work of Lefschetz, for whom he had a tremendous admiration. He went to Princeton in 1931, primarily because Lefschetz was there, and he was greatly influenced by Lefschetz's ideas. As might be expected from his work, there was nothing parochial in Hodge's mathematical outlook. He was very much aware of the importance of maintaining contact with mathematicians abroad, and after the war he played a leading part in the formation of the International Mathematical Union, serving as vice-president from 1954 to 1958. He presided over the International Congress of Mathematicians at Edinburgh in 1958 and was responsible for the organization that went with it. He was also one of the prime movers in starting the British Mathematical Colloquium, whose annual meetings since the war have done much to stimulate mathematical activity in this country. He was President of the London Mathematical Society (1947-49), the Mathematical Association (1955), and the Cambridge Philosophical Society (1947-49).
Hodge was very unlike the conventional image of a mathematician. Jovial, informal, and down-to-earth, he could easily have passed for a successful businessman. In fact, he had a considerable interest in the practical matters of university life and was not in the least worried by administrative burdens. He served on many important university bodies and also acted as a College Bursar for several years. When the Faculty of Mathematics divided into two departments—something which Hodge deplored—he inevitably became Head of the Department of Pure Mathematics.
His scientific eminence and practical experience combined to make him the obvious choice for the Mastership of Pembroke when S. Roberts retired in 1958. As Master, he took his duties seriously and always had the best interests of Pembroke very much at heart. Together with Lady Hodge, he did much to preserve a friendly atmosphere in the College. His college loyalties, however, did not blind him to the wider needs of the University, and he took a liberal view of the need for Colleges to elect more Fellows.
Hodge held very strongly that the place of mathematics was firmly in the sciences. As a result, he took a keen interest in the Royal Society. He was elected a Fellow at the early age of 35 and from 1957 to 1965 held the important office of Physical Secretary. He was also a Vice-President from 1959 to 1965.
Honours and medals were showered on him in his later years. He received recognition for his public services by being knighted in 1959. The Royal Society awarded him its Royal Medal in 1957, and the London Mathematical Society gave him the de Morgan Medal in 1959. He held honorary degrees from the Universities of Bristol, Edinburgh, Leicester, Sheffield, Exeter, Wales, and Liverpool, and he was a Foreign Associate of the American National Academy of Sciences.
He married Kathleen Cameron in 1929 and had a son and daughter.
A distinguished mathematician
Professor Sir William Hodge, FRS, SCD, FRSE, who was Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry and Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, from 1958 to 1970, has died at the age of 72.
One of the leading mathematicians of his time, he also played a prominent part both nationally and internationally in the mathematical and scientific world.
William Vallance Douglas Hodge was born in Edinburgh in 1903. He was educated at George Watson's College and Edinburgh University before going on to St. John's College, Cambridge. There he took the Mathematical Tripos and a few years later won the Smith's Prize. With the exception of five years as a lecturer at Bristol and one year at Princeton, the rest of his working life was spent in Cambridge. After holding a research fellowship at St. John's, he became a staff fellow of Pembroke until 1936, when he succeeded H. F. Baker as Lown Dean Professor. He remained a fellow of Pembroke and in 1958 he was elected Master.
The title of Astronomy in Hodge's Chair had been nominal for some time, and his mathematical contributions were in the field of Algebraic Geometry. His work here was of a genuinely pioneering kind, and the theory of harmonic integrals, which was his main contribution to mathematics, has had a significant influence on the development of geometry over the past 30 years. When Hodge first came to Cambridge, geometry, as practiced by the Baker school, was in danger of becoming fossilized and cut off from the rest of mathematics. Hodge revitalized the subject by emphasizing and developing its relationship with analysis and topology. In doing this, he helped steer British mathematics back into the mainstream.
Hodge's work was in the great tradition of Riemann and Poincaré, but his more immediate inspiration came from the work of Lefschetz, for whom he had a tremendous admiration. He went to Princeton in 1931, primarily because Lefschetz was there, and he was greatly influenced by Lefschetz's ideas. As might be expected from his work, there was nothing parochial in Hodge's mathematical outlook. He was very much aware of the importance of maintaining contact with mathematicians abroad, and after the war he played a leading part in the formation of the International Mathematical Union, serving as vice-president from 1954 to 1958. He presided over the International Congress of Mathematicians at Edinburgh in 1958 and was responsible for the organization that went with it. He was also one of the prime movers in starting the British Mathematical Colloquium, whose annual meetings since the war have done much to stimulate mathematical activity in this country. He was President of the London Mathematical Society (1947-49), the Mathematical Association (1955), and the Cambridge Philosophical Society (1947-49).
Hodge was very unlike the conventional image of a mathematician. Jovial, informal, and down-to-earth, he could easily have passed for a successful businessman. In fact, he had a considerable interest in the practical matters of university life and was not in the least worried by administrative burdens. He served on many important university bodies and also acted as a College Bursar for several years. When the Faculty of Mathematics divided into two departments—something which Hodge deplored—he inevitably became Head of the Department of Pure Mathematics.
His scientific eminence and practical experience combined to make him the obvious choice for the Mastership of Pembroke when S. Roberts retired in 1958. As Master, he took his duties seriously and always had the best interests of Pembroke very much at heart. Together with Lady Hodge, he did much to preserve a friendly atmosphere in the College. His college loyalties, however, did not blind him to the wider needs of the University, and he took a liberal view of the need for Colleges to elect more Fellows.
Hodge held very strongly that the place of mathematics was firmly in the sciences. As a result, he took a keen interest in the Royal Society. He was elected a Fellow at the early age of 35 and from 1957 to 1965 held the important office of Physical Secretary. He was also a Vice-President from 1959 to 1965.
Honours and medals were showered on him in his later years. He received recognition for his public services by being knighted in 1959. The Royal Society awarded him its Royal Medal in 1957, and the London Mathematical Society gave him the de Morgan Medal in 1959. He held honorary degrees from the Universities of Bristol, Edinburgh, Leicester, Sheffield, Exeter, Wales, and Liverpool, and he was a Foreign Associate of the American National Academy of Sciences.
He married Kathleen Cameron in 1929 and had a son and daughter.
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