French mathematician dies at 104, great life!!

What an amazing life story! He sounds like such a great guy and his students must have learned so much from him. And the World War II experience is remarkable. A genius without crazy angst, now this is the type of person that I'd enjoy a movie about (hint, hint).

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/25/MNBN12HOV2.DTL

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Henri Cartan, a mathematician known for meticulous proofs and for inspiring a revival of mathematics in France after World War II, died in Paris on Aug. 13. He was 104.

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"There was his own work, which was quite influential. But just as influential were the students that he had, which led to the generation of French mathematicians that, at its high point, were the best in the world."

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Many of France's top mathematicians and scientists had died during World War I.

"We were the first generation after the war," Professor Cartan recalled in an interview with the American Mathematical Society in 1999.

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After World War II, Cartan helped French and German mathematicians re-establish academic connections even though the Germans had executed a younger brother of his, who was a member of the French Resistance.

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He received the Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 1960, one of the highest awards in the field.
"All by himself, he put the level of French mathematics much higher," Serre said.