Helly, Eduard

Helly was born in Vienna and earned his Ph.D. there in 1907. He worked in the field of mathematics until he enlisted in the army at the beginning of World War I. He was wounded in September 1915 and became a Russian prisoner of war. After returning to Vienna in 1920, Helly was unable to secure permanent employment as a mathematician and worked as a bank clerk and insurance actuary until 1938 when Austria was taken into the Third Reich and Helly and his family escaped to the U. S. Helly was able to work at various mathematically-related positions until his death of a heart attack in 1943.