Editing David van Dantzig

{{Short description|Dutch mathematician (1900–1959)}}{{Family name hatnote|Van Dantzig|Dantzig|lang=Dutch}}{{Dutch name capitalization|Van Dantzig}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name        = David van Dantzig
| image       = David van Dantzig.jpg
| image_size  = 
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1900|9|23|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Amsterdam]], Netherlands
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1959|7|22|1900|9|23|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Amsterdam]], Netherlands
| fields      = [[Mathematics]]
| workplaces  = [[University of Amsterdam]]
| alma_mater  = [[University of Amsterdam]]
| doctoral_advisor = [[Bartel Leendert van der Waerden]]
| doctoral_students = {{plainlist|1=
*[[Constance van Eeden]]
*[[Jan Hemelrijk]]
*[[Johan Kemperman]]
}}
| known_for   = 
| awards      = 
}}

'''David van Dantzig''' (September 23, 1900 – July 22, 1959) was a Dutch [[mathematician]], well known for the construction in [[topology]] of the [[solenoid (mathematics)|solenoid]]. He was a member of the [[Significs Group]].

== Biography ==
Born to a [[Jewish]] family in Amsterdam in 1900,<ref>{{MacTutor|id=Dantzig}}</ref> David van Dantzig started to study Chemistry at the University of Amsterdam in 1917, where [[Gerrit Mannoury]] lectured.<ref>Siegenbeek van Heukelom, J., and Gerard Alberts. "[http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=869119 Correspondentie David van Dantzig--Gerrit Mannoury historische notitie SEN, 1.]" (2000) mentioned:<p>''Correspondence David van Dantzig--Gerrit Mannoury October 23rd 1917, after the second lecture in a course on analytical geometry David van Dantzig, student of chemistry, wrote a long letter to the professor of mathematics Gerrit Mannoury. It proved the starting point of a life-long symbiosis of pupil and master in mathematics, metamathematics and significs...''</p></ref> He received his PhD at the [[University of Groningen]] in 1931 with a thesis entitled "{{lang|nl|Studien over topologische algebra}}" under supervision of [[Bartel Leendert van der Waerden]].<ref name = "MGP">[http://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=49638 David van Dantzig] at Mathematics Genealogy Project.</ref>

{{blockquote|Topological algebra made its first appearance in the paper of Kürschak ..., where the definition of an abstract field with a valuation is clearly set forth. The foundation was completed in the thesis of van Dantzig ...; topological groups, rings, fields, and linear spaces are there defined, and their basic properties are established.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kaplansky, Irving|author-link=Irving Kaplansky|chapter=Topological algebra|title=Proc. Intern. Math. Congress, Cambridge, Mass. 1950|volume=2|pages=112–113}} (quote from p. 112)</ref>}}

Van Dantzig, in collaboration with [[Johannes van der Corput]] and [[Jurjen Ferdinand Koksma]], played a pivotal role in establishing the 'Mathematical Centre' in Amsterdam. This institution, funded by both government and industry, was designed to amalgamate all facets of pure and applied mathematics under a single entity. As the head of the Department of Mathematical Statistics, Van Dantzig was instrumental in enhancing research and fostering consultancy, gaining widespread recognition both nationally and internationally.

He was appointed professor at the [[Delft University of Technology]] in 1938, and at the [[University of Amsterdam]] in 1946.
Among his doctoral students were [[Jan Hemelrijk]] (1950), [[Johan Kemperman]] (1950), David Johannes Stoker<!--Q102256051--> (1955), and [[Constance van Eeden]] (1958).<ref name = "MGP"/> In Amsterdam he was one of the founders of the [[Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica|Mathematisch Centrum]]. At the University of Amsterdam he was succeeded by [[Jan Hemelrijk]].<ref name=":0" />

Originally working on topics in [[differential geometry and topology]], after [[World War II]] he focused on [[probability]], emphasizing the applicability to [[statistical hypothesis testing]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Obituary: David van Dantzig |url=https://academic.oup.com/jrsssa/article-pdf/123/1/87/49739897/jrsssa_123_1_87.pdf |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=academic.oup.com}}</ref>

Van Dantzig's contributions to mathematics and statistics were acknowledged through numerous appointments and memberships. In 1949 he became member of the [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]] (''Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen'').<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetail&aId=PE00004760 |title=David van Dantzig (1900 - 1959) |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |date= |access-date=18 July 2015}}</ref> He was a Fellow of the [[Institute of Mathematical Statistics]], the [[American Statistical Association]], and the [[Royal Statistical Society]]. His memberships extended to the [[International Statistical Institute]], and he was a prominent figure in the Dutch Statistical Association (''Vereniging voor Statistiek''). Additionally, Van Dantzig held the position of Visiting Professor at the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in 1951 and spent time working at the [[National Bureau of Standards]] in Washington, D.C.<ref name=":0" />

In response to the [[North Sea flood of 1953]], the [[Dutch Government]] established the Delta Committee, and asked Van Dantzig to develop a mathematical approach to formulate and solve the economic cost-benefit decision model concerning optimal dike height problems in connection with the [[Delta Works]]. The work of the Delta Committee, including the work by Van Dantzig, finally resulted in statutory minimal safety standards.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.cpb.nl/sites/default/files/omnidownload/CPB-Discussion-Paper-380-Economic-decision-problems-in-multi-level-flood-protection.pdf |title=Economic Decision Problems in Multi-Level Flood Prevention: a new graph-based approach used for real world applications, by Peter J. Zwaneveld and Gerard Verweij |publisher=CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis |date=May 2018 |access-date=19 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=van Dantzig |first1=D. |author-link=David van Dantzig |year=1954 |title=Mathematical problems raised by the flood disaster 1953 |url=https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/titel/1967910 |journal=Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians, Amsterdam Sept. 2 - 9 |publication-place=[[Amsterdam]] |pages=218–239 |access-date=16 December 2023 |via=[[Wageningen University]]}}</ref><ref name="Econometrica1956">''Econometric decision problems for flood prevention,'' Econometrica, Vol. 24 (1956), pp. 276-287.</ref><ref name="DeltaCommission1959">''The econometric decision problem concerning the prevention of floods in Holland'' (in Dutch), Report for the Delta Commission, 1959.</ref> A comprehensive report on this work, spanning several hundred pages, was found on his desk on the day of his death.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Hemelrijk |first1=J. |author-link=Jan Hemelrijk |date=1960 |title=The Statistical Work of David Van Dantzig (1900-1959) |url=https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A87ecaad6-3585-490a-a5eb-10f3234928a0/datastream/OBJ/download |journal=[[Annals of Mathematical Statistics]] |publisher=Duke University Press |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=269–275 |doi=10.1214/aoms/1177705893 |access-date=16 December 2023|doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Publications ==
Books, a selection:
* 1931. ''Studien over topologische algebra''. Doctoral thesis University of Groningen.
* 1932. ''Over de elementen van het wiskundig denken : voordracht''. Rede Delft. Groningen : Noordhoff.
* 1938. ''Vragen en schijnvragen over ruimte en tijd : een toepassing van den wiskundigen denkvorm''.  Inaugurale rede Technische Hogeschool te Delft
* 1948. ''De functie der wetenschap : drie voordrachten, met discussie''. With [[E.W. Beth]] and C.F.P. Stutterheim. 's-Gravenhage : Leopold

Articles, a selection:
* D. van Dantzig, [[Carel Louis Scheffer|C. Scheffer]] "On hereditary time discrete stochastic processes, considered as stationary Markov chains, and the corresponding general form of Wald’s fundamental identity," Indag. Math. (16), No.4, (1954), p.&nbsp;377–388
* Dantzig, D. van. 1956. Economic decision problems for flood prevention. [[Econometrica]] 24(3) 276–287.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commonscatinline}}
* {{MacTutor Biography|id=Dantzig}}
* {{MathGenealogy|id=49638}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dantzig, David van}}
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1959 deaths]]
[[Category:Dutch Jews]]
[[Category:Dutch statisticians]]
[[Category:20th-century Dutch mathematicians]]
[[Category:University of Groningen alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Statistical Association]]
[[Category:Scientists from Amsterdam]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Mathematical statisticians]]
[[Category:University of Amsterdam alumni]]