The old guard under a new order
K. O. Friedrichs meets Felix Klein
pp. 375-377
in: , A richer picture of mathematics, Berlin, Springer, 2018Abstract
Constance Reid's recent tribute to K. O. Friedrichs (Reid 1983) undoubtedly brought back fond memories to those who knew the man and his many achievements (see also Reid 1986). It was a great pleasure for me to interview Friedrichs in January 1982, only about a year before his death. He was already in very delicate health. His wife Nellie (see Biegel 2012) was kind enough to arrange the interview, but warned me beforehand that her husband tired rather easily and was somewhat hard of hearing. Nevertheless, he was extremely forthcoming in discussing his early career with me, and quick to dismiss some of my faulty misconceptions regarding Göttingen mathematics in the 1920s, which was the main topic of conversation. Most of what Friedrichs spoke about can be found either in Reid's eulogistic article or in her book on Richard Courant. One particular incident he related to me, however, was only alluded to in her article, and because of its personal interest and the larger themes it suggests, it seems appropriate to repeat it here, in a somewhat embellished form. This is the story Friedrichs told me about the day he met Felix Klein (Fig. 31.1).