Andrey Kolmogorov was born on April 25, 1903 in Tambov. His aunts organized some kind of a school for children of various age, and Andrey eagerly attended it and even wrote arithmetic problems to the magazine, in which children wrote essays and poems. At the age of 5 Andrey published his first scientific paper in mathematics, in which he described an algebraic law. At seven Andrey started attending a private secondary school.

Outstanding mathematical gift of Andrey Kolmogorov revealed very early, however, his life orientation wasn’t yet defined – young man was also interested in history and sociology and even dreamt of becoming a forester. In 1920 Andrey entered mathematics faculty of Moscow University. Young man was lucky to have eminent mathematicians as teachers at the university – they contributed a lot to his star rising to the scientific sky. Andrey’s gift earned him a stipend during first year of studies – now nothing distracted him from mathematics.

First publications of Andrey Kolmogorov were dedicated to descriptive and metric theories of function – the earliest dates back to 1923. Basics of mathematical analysis and mathematical logic, discussed at every scientific corner in the mid-twenties, attracted attention of young mathematician in the beginning of his career. Kolmogorov took part in the discussion between two main opposing methodological schools – formal axiomatic and intuitionistic systems – and unexpectedly got amazing results, proving in 1925 that all known statements of classic formal logic transform into intuitionistic logic under certain interpretation.

 

 

The law of large numbers was of extreme importance for applying mathematical methods to natural science and practical sciences. The problem with this law was that no one knew necessary and sufficient conditions for it to apply. For years eminent mathematicians from all over the world did their best to find them, and in 1926 the PhD student from Russia – of course, it was Andrey Kolmogorov – succeeded.

In 1930 Andrey Kolmogorov became the professor of Moscow University . Between 1933 and 1937 great scientist worked as rector of MSU’s Institute of Mechanics and Mathematics. For a long time Kolmogorov headed the department of the probability theory and the laboratory of statistical methods. In 1935 Andrey Kolmogorov became the Doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, and four years later the scientist was elected a member of USSR Academy of Sciences. Shortly before the Great Patriotic War began, Kolmogorov and his colleague Khinchin were awarded the State Prize for their contribution to knowledge of the probability theory.

Extended session of USSR Academy of Sciences, held on June 23, 1941, decided to orient all Soviet science and research institutions on victory. Soviet mathematicians performed complicated research in the field of mechanics and ballistics. Kolmogorov suggested definition of the most optimal missile dispersion during fire.

The war was over, and Kolmogorov returned to peaceful missions. The scientist’s contribution to various fields of mathematics was enormous – general theory of set operations, theory of integrals, information theory, hydrodynamics, celestial mechanics and etc. In all these disciplines Kolmogorov’s theorems and methods are now classic. Andrey Kolmogorov was an honoured member of many foreign academies and scientific communities. In March 1963 great scientist was awarded the International Bolzano Prize, widely known as the Nobel Prize for mathematicians. The same year Andrey Kolmogorov got the title of the Hero of Socialist Labour. In 1965 Andrey Kolmogorov and his colleague Vladimir Arnold were awarded the Lenin Prize.

Great mathematician died in 1987.

Source: Kolmogorov.info

Kizilova Anna