The Ramanujan Journal Vol.02, No.1-2 March 1998 (Kluwer Academic Publishers)(290s).pdf

THE RAMANUJAN JOURNAL 2, 5–6 (1998)

c 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Manufactured in herlands.
Editorial
In September 1996, Professor Paul Erd˝os, one of the mathematical legends of this century,
died while attending a conference in Warsaw, Poland. His death at the age of 83 marked
the end of a great era, for Erd˝os was not only an outstanding mathematician but a very kind
and generous human being, who encouraged hundreds of mathematicians over the decades,
especially young aspirants to the subject. Many, including me, owe their careers to him. He
was without doubt the most prolific mathematician of this century, having written more than
1000 papers, a significant proportion of them being joint papers. Even in a mathematical
world, which is used to geniuses and their idiosyncracies, Erd˝os was considered an unusual
phenomenon and was viewed with awe and adoration, just as Ramanujan evoked surprise and
admiration. And like Ramanujan’s mathematics, the contributions of Erd˝os will continue
to inspire and influence research in the decades ahead.
Paul Erd˝os was unique in many ways. Born in Hungary in April 1913, he was a member
of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. But he did not have a job or any regular position. He
was constantly on the move, criss-crossing the globe several times during a year, visiting one
university after the other giving lectures. Somehow in his wordwide travels, like migrating
birds, he managed to hover around the isotherm 70
F. So he visited Calgary in the summers,
California in the winters and Florida in February/March. He seldom stayed at one place for
more than two weeks except, perhaps, in his native Hungary where he returned periodically
between his travels. And he did this every year for the past half a century or more! To be in
constant demand at universities throughout the world, one should not only be an unending
source of new ideas but should also have the ability to interact with persons of varying
tastes