Fields, John Charles (1863-1932), a Canadian mathematician, established an award that has become known as the Fields Medal . It is a prestigious prize for outstanding and promising achievements in mathematics . Fields worked to promote recognition of the importance of mathematics.
In 1932, Fields established the prize as the International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics. Noting that there was no Nobel Prize in mathematics, he proposed an international medal of distinction recognizing the contributions of mathematicians. Fields suggested that the medal be awarded to exceptional researchers in mathematics, especially young mathematicians, to encourage further achievement. He also emphasized that the medal should not be associated with any single country or institution. The Fields Medal has brought recognition to the more abstract areas of mathematics, encouraging their study.
Fields was born on May 14, 1863, in Hamilton , Ontario . He earned a bachelor’s degree and gold medal in mathematics from the University of Toronto in 1884. He earned a doctorate degree in mathematics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1887. His particular area of interest was algebraic functions, mathematical statements describing relationships between variables. Fields traveled to Europe to work with renowned mathematicians from 1892 to 1900. He taught and conducted research at the University of Toronto from 1902 until his death. Fields was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1909. In 1913, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London.
In 1924, Fields served as the president of the International Mathematical Union. During that time, he raised funds to hold the union’s meeting, the International Congress of Mathematics, in Toronto . The leftover money, along with assets provided in Fields’s will, funded the medals. Fields died on Aug. 9, 1932. The first Fields medals were awarded in 1936.
