Hertz, Paul, 1881-

German emigré physicist, professor at University of Göttingen, (1921-1933); died in Philadelphia.

Mathematician, physicist and philosopher. Born in 1881 in Hamburg, Germany, he studied mathematics and physics in Heidelberg, Göttingen and Leipzig. He earned his PhD in 1904 as a student of Max Abraham in Göttingen. In 1909, he earned his habilitation at Heidelberg, returned to Göttingen in 1912, and became a professor extraordinarius there in 1921. Hertz began his scientific career as a theoretical physicist. Later on, he made significant contributions in the foundations of mathematics and axiomatics. Eventually, his interests led him to philosophical-logical questions. Political circumstances caused him to emigrate with his family to the United States, where he suffered an untimely death in 1940 while still engaged in his research.