American Philosophical Society
Member History

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1Name:  Dr. John F. Nash
 Institution:  Princeton University
 Year Elected:  2006
 Class:  1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences
 Subdivision:  104. Mathematics
 Residency:  Resident
 Living? :   Deceased
 Birth Date:  1928
 Death Date:  May 23, 2015
   
 
John Nash introduced what is now called "Nash equilibrium" in non-cooperative games and proved that such an equilibrium always exists. This work is foundational for Game Theory and led to his Nobel Prize in Economics. No less impressive is his work in pure mathematics, where his very deep and difficult theorems on embedding of manifolds initiated a whole new field of research. Tragically disabled by schizophrenia for over 30 years, he provided inspiration for many fellow sufferers by completely recovering, as told in the book and motion picture A Beautiful Mind. He then resumed his research in mathematics, having served as a researcher at Princeton University from 1994 to his death in 2015. In addition to the Nobel Prize, among Dr. Nash's many honors are the John Von Neumann Theory Prize of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (1978), the American Mathematical Society's Steele Prize (1999), and Norway's Abel Prize (2015). A graduate of Princeton University (Ph.D., 1950), he is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (1995) and the National Academy of Sciences (1996). He died May 23, 2015, at the age of 86 in New Jersey.
 
Election Year
2006 (1)