University of Dorpat
What was the name of the employer Theodor Molien work for from 1885 to 1900?
Theodor Molien Theodor Georg Andreas Molien ( ; in Riga – 25 December 1941 in Tomsk ) was a Baltic-German mathematician . He was born in Riga , Latvia , which at that time was a part of Russian Empire . Molien studied associative algebras and polynomial invariants of finite groups . Life . Youth in Riga . Theodor Moliens father Eduard Molien was a teacher at the Riga Governorate Gymnasium . Theodor entered that gymnasium in 1872 and graduated in 1879 . Studies and work in Dorpat . In January 1880 Molien entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the University of Dorpat ( now University of Tartu ) as a student of astronomy . To support his studies his family also moved to Dorpat ( now Tartu ) . In October 1883 the council of the university gave him the degree of a candidate of astronomy . His thesis Bahn des Cometen 1880 III was published in Astronomische Nachrichten No . 2510 . His further work was supervised by the head of the chair of applied mathematics of the University of Dorpat Anders Lindstedt . In a report to the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the University of Dorpat Lindstedt acknowledges Molien as having unquestionably exceptional scientific talent ( unzweifelhaft ungewöhnliche wissenschaftliche Begabung ) . In the autumn of 1883 , as part of his studies Molien was sent to Leipzig for three semesters . There he attended lectures by Felix Klein on different fields of mathematics and worked in his seminar . He also attended lectures of Carl Neumann , Eduard Study , Wilhelm Killing and Georg Scheffers . At that time Klein was dealing with deep problems of algebra and theory of functions of a complex variable . Following his suggestion , Molien started to study linear transformations of elliptic functions . The obtained results he submitted to the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the University of Dorpat as a master thesis titled Ueber die lineare Transformation der elliptischen Functionen . In spring 1885 Molien passed the masters exams and after the defence in the autumn of 1885 he obtained the scientific degree of a Master of Mathematics . In November 1885 he became a docent at the University of Dorpat . This position he held for 15 years . Summers ( that were free from teaching ) of 1886 , 1888 and 1889 Molien spent in scientific centers of Germany . His interest concentrated on so-called higher complex numbers ( nowadays called hypercomplex numbers ) . His studies resulted in his article Über Systeme höherer komplexer Zahlen ( On systems of higher complex numbers ) , published in 1891 in Mathematische Annalen . On 30 September 1892 , Molien defended his dissertation , also titled Über Systeme höherer komplexer Zahlen . He got the degree of a doctor of pure mathematics . The importance of his work was acknowledged by Georg Frobenius , Sophus Lie and other mathematicians . One of the main results of his dissertation sounds in modern terms as follows : every simple associative algebra over the field of complex numbers is isomorphic to the algebra of square matrices of a suitable order over the same field . For his scientific achievements , in 1892 Molien was elected a member of Moscow Mathematical Society . In 1894 French mathematicians awarded him a golden medal dedicated to the seventieth birthday of Charles Hermite . During Dorpat years , Molien had mathematical correspondence with Frobenius and Hurwitz . Since the University of Dorpat had only one professorship in pure mathematics , Molien had to stay for years at docents position . Being a docent in Dorpat , Molien prepared and gave different lecture courses : Theory of analytic and elliptic functions , modern geometry and algebra , theory of algebraic equations , number theory , projective geometry , theory of quaternions , history of mathematics and others . Some of these courses were new for the university . In 1887 Russian powers decided to change the language of secondary and higher education in Baltic governorates from German to Russian with the deadline 1 January 1895 . With the purpose of improving his Russian language , Molien was sent to Moscow for the year 1892 . Career in Tomsk . Only in December 1900 Molien was given a professors position , but not in Dorpat , but in the starting Tomsk Technological Institute in Siberia . He became the first professor of mathematics in Siberia . His was given a task of organizing teaching mathematics at the institute . In Tomsk , besides giving courses in mathematical analysis and differential equations , he wrote textbooks and exercise books on these subjects , and also established a mathematical library at the institute . Known for his oppositional political views , he had to retire in 1913 . Since 1914 , Molien was a professor at higher Siberian courses for women in Tomsk , and when in 1917 the faculty of physics and mathematics was opened at the Tomsk State University , he got a professorship there , and stayed at that university until his death on 25 December 1941 . In Tomsk Molien spent 41 years of his life . These years were scientifically not as fruitful as earlier years . He got the title of Honoured Worker of Science . Works . - Bahn des Cometen 1880 III ( candidates thesis ) , Astron . Nachr . Bd . 105 , No . 2519 . - Ueber Systeme höherer complexer Zahlen : eine behufs Erlangung des Grades eines Doctors der reinen Mathematik der physico-mathematischen Fakultät der Kaiserl . Universität Dorpat ( dissertation ) , Tartu , 1892 . ( full text ) - Ueber die lineare Transformation der elliptischen Functionen : eine zur Erlangung des Grades eines Magisters der Mathematik der physico-mathematischen Facultät der Kaiserlichen Universität Dorpat ( masters thesis ) , Tartu , 1885 , 23 pp . Other interests . Molien was interested in chess . In 1897-1898 he was in correspondence with a leading Russian chess player Mikhail Chigorin . He was one of the strongest chess players in Dorpat and was particularly known for his blindfold play ( Ken Whyld , personal communication , 1995 ) . He was president of the Dorpat chess club , and several of his games were published in the chess journal Baltische Schachblätter ( edited by Friedrich Amelung ) . In 1898 Molien published four chess studies . To 1895 dates his manuscript On theory of assigning prizes in tournaments . Molien had also talent for languages . He knew German , Estonian , French , Swedish already before he entered gymnasium where he learned Greek , Hebrew , Latin , English , Italian . Later he learned Spanish , Portuguese , Dutch , and Norwegian .