RIP

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

I don't check at all. But I do get emails from colleagues.

Ah, that explains it! Apparently no other Forumite was cc'd in.

So of course, when you learn of a famous mathematician's passing through private communication, and it has not been widely publicized, or yet posted here, you post the news to RIP as soon as possible.

Or not.

Beyond noting the fact that a famous mathematician has passed away naturally in old age, I'm not sure what there would be to "discuss," their achievements being (hopefully) generally known, unless someone had attended a class or lecture by the deceased, or was familiar with them personally.

Or if they had recently been in the news, which isn't always a good thing.

I was understating things when I said I "very seldom" check just to see whether a mathematician had recently died. I have only done so once. After your first post in response to the news of Kobe Bryant's passing, it occurred to me to wonder whether perhaps another famous mathematician had just died. So I checked.

And, as it turned out, one had. One heck of a coincidence, eh?

[Dr Sardonicus]

Fred Silverman

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fred Silverman, the only TV executive who steered programming for each of the Big Three broadcast networks and who brought "All in the Family," "Roots," "Hawaii Five-O" and other hit series and miniseries to television during his more than three-decade career, died Thursday. He was 82.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Guardian of Monarch butterfly grounds eulogized in Mexico

OCAMPO, Mexico (AP) — Hundreds of farmers and agricultural workers thronged the funeral of activist Homero Gómez González on Friday, and the homage to him was like a tribute to the monarch butterfly he so staunchly defended.

The butterflies' annual migration, threatened by logging, avocado farming and climate and environmental change, has also represented a ray of hope and income for the impoverished, pine-clad mountains of Michoacan state.

Nobody worked harder than Gómez González — whose body was found this week at the bottom of a holding pond with a head wound — to stop logging, reforest and bring tourists to the butterflies' wintering grounds.
<snip>
A few hours after the body was found on Wednesday, Michoacan state prosecutors said an initial review indicated a drowning and found no signs of trauma, but a statement Thursday night said more detailed autopsy results produced evidence of the head injury.

[LaurV]

Originally Posted by pinhodecarlos

Kobe Bryant

Not being a sports fun, and not knowing much about this guy, but I love him already. Rest in peace.

[Jan S]

Mary Higgins Clark:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/b...lark-dead.html

[pinhodecarlos]

Not sure where to add this but:

“ Streatham: Man shot by police after stabbings in London
A man has been shot by armed officers in a "terrorist-related" incident in south London, the Met Police have said.” - 14:00 BST on Sunday.

[kladner]

Originally Posted by pinhodecarlos

Not sure where to add this but:

“ Streatham: Man shot by police after stabbings in London
A man has been shot by armed officers in a "terrorist-related" incident in south London, the Met Police have said.” - 14:00 BST on Sunday.

Link?
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...n-south-london

[ewmayer]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Guardian of Monarch butterfly grounds eulogized in Mexico

Per NPR, a second sanctuary protector was found dead a few days ago - the danger of interfering with the despoliation and looting programs of powerful business interests.

Let's see - Mexico being a deeply Catholic country, and Pope Francis a lover of nature, should the perps ever be IDed, I suggest excommunication on top of whatever legal penaties may be applied.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

Per NPR, a second sanctuary protector was found dead a few days ago - the danger of interfering with the despoliation and looting programs of powerful business interests.

Let's see - Mexico being a deeply Catholic country, and Pope Francis a lover of nature, should the perps ever be IDed, I suggest excommunication on top of whatever legal penaties may be applied.

That's a great suggestion!

As I understand it, the proper salutation for letters to the Pope is "Your Holiness:"

[Spherical Cow]

Louis Nirenberg-

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/s...berg-dead.html

Note: I especially like the end of the article, when a mathematician says to him "I never found a proof I didn't like." Nirenberg's response was "This is hopeless!"

Norm

[ewmayer]

Originally Posted by Spherical Cow

Louis Nirenberg-

I was gonna reply with "this was covered i multiple posts in this thread last week", but it seems someone has moved them, probably to a thread deidcated to RIPs for eminent mathematicians, which I am too lazy/pressed to dig up. There is still a sidelong mention of it in RDS's posts #1197 in this thread.