History of topology / I. M. James

Notes bibliogr. en fin de chapitres. Index

From the ‘Preface’: “Topology, for many years, has been one of the most exciting and influential fields of research in modern mathematics. Although its origins may be traced back several hundred years it was Poincaré who, to borrow an expression used of Möbius, “gave topology wings” in a classic series of articles published around the turn of the century. While the earlier history, sometimes called the prehistory, is also considered, this volume is mainly concerned with the more recent history of topology, from Poincaré onwards. As will be seen from the list of contents the articles cover a wide range of topics. Some are more technical than others, but the reader without a great deal of technical knowledge should still find most of the articles accessible. Some are written by professional historians of mathematics, others by historically-minded mathematicians, who tend to have a different viewpoint. Most of the material has not been published before. Topology is a large subject, with many branches, and it proved quite impossible to cover everything. The emphasis is on what might be called classical topology rather than on general (or point-set) topology: a separate history of general topology is in the process of publication under a different aegis. However, the editor believes the articles will be found to cover most of the major topics. The order in which they are arranged is partly chronological and partly according to subject matter. The last part of the book is more concerned with the people who were important in the development of the subject. In particular short biographies of a number of them are given, based on material already in the literature, and rather longer biographies of some others, which contain material not previously published.” ... (Zentralblatt)