Tullio Levi Civita
Pioneering Italian mathematician of Jewish origin
- Tullio Levi-Civita (1873–1941)
Tullio Levi-Civita was an Italian mathematician of Jewish origin, born on 29 March 1873 in Padua. Through his pioneering work in tensor calculus, he established the mathematical principles that Albert Einstein subsequently employed in his general theory of relativity. Not only was Levi-Civita a brilliant thinker, he was also an excellent teacher and mentor whose influence extended far beyond Italy.
In the 1930s, he fell victim to the anti-Semitic racial laws of the Italian fascist regime and lost his professorship. Nevertheless, he continued to work privately and in collaboration with international colleagues. Levi-Civita died in poverty in 1941, but his legacy continues to shape modern physics and mathematics to this day.
Learn more about
The scientist
- Tullio Levi-Civita: Wikipedia
- A famous Italian mathematician of Jewish origin: Biographs
- Toward a scientific and personal biography of Tullio Levi-Civita: ScienceDirect
- MacTutor History of Mathematics: University of St Andrews
The science
- Levi-Civita’s textbook on tensor calculus: Internet Archive
- What Are Tensors and Why Are They Used in Relativity?: Physics Forum Insights
The illustration
Drawn by Nuriya Nurgalieva: Website
