Guillaume Brummer

Guillaume Brummer

[Walter P Tholen]

With great sadness we learned that our colleague and dear friend, Professor  Guillaume Cornelis Langenhoven Brummer (1934-2023), passed away on January  4, 2023.  [The umlaut in the last name has been suppressed in this mailing.]
In the 1970s, Guillaume was instrumental in bringing category theory to the  African continent. We remember him especially as one of the founders and international leaders of categorical topology, with profound contributions to category theory and topology. Guillaume stood firmly against racial segregation and held a conviction that the best way to overcome injustice was by  providing the very best opportunities for all in South Africa.  He was a major force in developing abstract mathematical thinking and education in South Africa, most notably through collaboration with many mathematical centres worldwide and the founding of the general mathematical journal Quaestiones Mathematicae.
Throughout the years, many conferences and seminars were organized and dedicated to Guillaume. Readers may wish to revisit the Special Session “CATEGORICAL TOPOLOGY - Section dedicated to G. C. L. Brummer's 75th Birthday”  on CT2009 in Cape Town (see http://137.158.44.70/~janelidze/ct2009/Index.html and click on “Program with Photos”, then “Tuesday”, to see a photo of Guillaume giving a talk at 14:00-14:30).
We will sincerely miss Guillaume’s leadership, wisdom and friendship.

Christopher Gilmour, David Holgate, George Janelidze, Walter Tholen


[For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]