David Hilbert's American Colony

Abstract: No, David Hilbert never crossed the Atlantic. Yet at Gottingen he produced an outstanding cadre of American doctoral students who played important roles in the development of mathematics in the U.S. during the first half of the twentieth century. In this talk we describe the life and careers of those mathematicians who obtained doctorates under Hilbert 1899-1910, emphasizing the critical role they played in what was then the southwestern part of the country, particularly at the University of Missouri. We end by comparing the schools of American students produced by Felix Klein, Sophus Lie, and David Hilbert.