mathematics

Peter Thullen

Peter Thullen is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Peter Thullen rather than just read about it. In short: Peter Thullen (24 August 1907 in Trier – 24 June 1996 in Lonay) was a German/Ecuadorian mathematician. Academic career He studied under Heinrich Behnke at the University of Münster and received his doctoral degree in 1931 at the age of 23.

Key takeaways

Peter Thullen belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Peter Thullen to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Peter Thullen from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Peter Thullen (24 August 1907 in Trier – 24 June 1996 in Lonay) was a German/Ecuadorian mathematician.

Academic career He studied under Heinrich Behnke at the University of Münster and received his doctoral degree in 1931 at the age of 23. He is noted for work on several complex variables. One of his achievements is a classification of 2-dimensional bounded Reinhardt domains. He obtained a subsequent research fellowship with Professor Francesco Severi in Rome to explore how algebraic geometry could be integrated into the theory of functions of several complex variables.

International career In 1952 he left Latin America for Switzerland where he worked at the International Labour Organization. After he retired from the ILO, he went on to teach at the University of Fribourg. He considered returning to Germany at times, but had difficulty securing a position and regaining German citizenship.

Personal life Peter Thullen was an enthusiastic Wandervogel and active in the Catholic youth movement and opposed the rise of Nazism. He at first studied in Italy on a grant, and was able to observe developments in Germany from abroad. He decided he would not return to Germany so long as Hitler remained in power. After marriage, he moved to Quito, Ecuador with his wife. At the time he left for Ecuador he did not even know where Quito was located. His five children were all born during his stay in Ecuador. He would later disapprove of the post-war regime of Konrad Adenauer as he felt it retained some of the "ills" of German nationalism.

References

Thullen, Peter (1931), "Zu den Abbildungen durch analytische Funktionen mehrerer komplexer Veraenderlichen Die Invarianz des Mittelpunktes von Kreiskoerpern", Mathematische Annalen, 104: 244–259, doi:10.1007/bf01457933, S2CID 121072397 Sunada, Toshikazu (1978), "Holomorphic equivalence problem for bounded Reinhaldt domains", Mathematische Annalen, 235 (2): 111–128, doi:10.1007/bf01405009, S2CID 124324696

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Peter Thullen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Peter Thullen claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Peter Thullen before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Peter Thullen ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Peter Thullen

In research: Peter Thullen appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Peter Thullen in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Peter Thullen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1907 births, 1996 deaths, 20th-century German mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Peter Thullen outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Peter Thullen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Peter Thullen means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Peter Thullen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Peter Thullen in simple terms?

Peter Thullen (24 August 1907 in Trier – 24 June 1996 in Lonay) was a German/Ecuadorian mathematician. Academic career He studied under Heinrich Behnke at the University of Münster and received his doctoral degree in 1931 at the age of 23.

Why does Peter Thullen matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Peter Thullen?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Peter Thullen.