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Mathematician John Todd, the "Savior of Oberwolfach," Dies at 96

John "Jack" Todd, a pioneer in computing and numerical analysis, died in Pasadena on June 21. Todd taught mathematics for decades at the California Institute of Technology, but he may be best known for convincing Allied forces, in April 1945, not to destroy a German mathematical research institute in Oberwolfach.

Born in 1911, Todd grew up in Belfast in Northern Ireland and did his graduate studies at Cambridge University under J.E. Littlewood and G.H. Hardy. In 1938, he married the mathematician Olga Taussky, who became one of the first women to make a mark in 20th-century mathematics.

After Britain entered World War II, Todd went to work for the Admiralty—headed at the time by Winston Churchill. Todd was assigned to Portsmouth to help develop methods for "degaussing"—that is, demagnetizing—transport ships that might be targets of German U-boats.

In Germany near the close of the war, Todd prevented Allied forces from turning to rubble the Mathematical Research Institute, in Oberwolfach, where the University of Freiburg was sheltering its mathematicians. Todd successfully claimed the building for the Admiralty. It was "probably the best thing I ever did for mathematics," he later said.

Afterwards, Todd returned to teaching at King's College, developing a specialty in numerical analysis. In 1947, he and his wife moved to UCLA to help establish the National Applied Mathematics Laboratories, part of the National Bureau of Standards. Todd later became chief of the Bureau's computation laboratory, in Washington, D.C., helping to launch the field of high-speed computer programming and analysis.

In 1957, Todd came to Caltech to develop courses and teach mathematics, while Olga became a research associate. "It was a terrific day for the mathematics department," said Caltech's Gary Lorden, "when we succeeded in attracting Jack and Olga to come to Caltech."

Jack and Olga were among the pioneers who made Caltech "what we are in teaching and research in mathematics," said Thomas A. Tombrello, Caltech's chair of the Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy. "Our sense of collegiality and common purpose are a tribute to them."

For an in-depth profile of John Todd, see "John Todd—Numerical Mathematics Pioneer," published in the January 2007 issue of The College Mathematics Journal.—H. Waldman

id: 
4611
News Date: 
Thursday, June 28, 2007