From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.science.mathematics.categories/8265 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Fred E.J. Linton" Newsgroups: gmane.science.mathematics.categories Subject: Re: Stephen H. Schanuel Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 22:42:44 -0400 Message-ID: Reply-To: "Fred E.J. Linton" NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1406938794 31453 80.91.229.3 (2 Aug 2014 00:19:54 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2014 00:19:54 +0000 (UTC) Cc: wlawvere To: Original-X-From: majordomo@mlist.mta.ca Sat Aug 02 02:19:48 2014 Return-path: Envelope-to: gsmc-categories@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from smtp3.mta.ca ([138.73.1.186]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1XDN36-0003xm-6T for gsmc-categories@m.gmane.org; Sat, 02 Aug 2014 02:19:48 +0200 Original-Received: from mlist.mta.ca ([138.73.1.63]:49694) by smtp3.mta.ca with esmtp (Exim 4.80) (envelope-from ) id 1XDN2Q-0000Te-8D; Fri, 01 Aug 2014 21:19:06 -0300 Original-Received: from majordomo by mlist.mta.ca with local (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1XDN2Q-0004Lg-NG for categories-list@mlist.mta.ca; Fri, 01 Aug 2014 21:19:06 -0300 Z-USANET-MsgId: XID000sHacQS3408X34 Precedence: bulk Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.science.mathematics.categories:8265 Archived-At: I had known Steve Schanuel for so long, met him in so many and such varied circumstances, and held so admiring an appreciation as much for his mathematical perceptiveness as for his endearing humanity, musicality, and general good cheer, that my reaction, last week, to Bill's reluctant report of Steve's death left me simply speechless. How could it be that Steve was not simply automatically going to outlive me, by decades? Today I found the latest AMS Notices in my mailbox, with its Memorial Tribute to Friedrich Hirzebruch, who passed away, aged 84, in 2012. This is the same Hirzebruch whose famous little Springer hardback on = Topological Methods in Algebraic Geometry was at least as much my constant companion, as a grad student at Columbia in the half-decade centered around 1960, as the equally famous Princeton hardbacks on = Homological Algebra and Algebraic Topology that Sammy Eilenberg had his signature on. = Of Hirzebruch, too, it seemed, I had expected a life unstopped by death. Finally, after I saw the 1956 snapshot (taken in Mexico at the conference at which yet another topological immortal lost his life) of Chern, Eilenberg, and Hirzebruch, now all passed on, it all came = together for me -- it all "clicked": = That death we see is not so much the loss of a beloved friend, = an admired colleague, a revered teacher, an astute researcher, though it certainly is that, too -- yet it isn't so much a wordly loss = as it is that History has rung up a new gain: no longer does Steve = belong so exclusively to his peers, colleagues, friends, and family, = as to History. All the many who have left us behind on this world -- George Rinehart, Jon Beck, Eva Gray, Sammy, Saunders, Steve, Jim Lambek, Hirzebruch, and all the many others we would think of here -- they have entered = into the arms of History, and we may but hope History will treat them = as kindly as we would, were it all up to us. Peace, Steve; and peace be with all who love you. -- Fred Linton --- ------ Original Message ------ Received: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 07:36:30 PM EDT From: wlawvere To: Subject: categories: Stephen H. Schanuel > Stephen H. Schanuel > = > Dear colleagues, > = > It is with deep sadness that I report that my best friend, > Steve Schanuel, died today. > = > His intellectual generosity and quick mathematical > wit, legendary among colleagues and students alike, > will continue to inspire many. > = > Bill Lawvere [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]