Friedrich Hirzebruch passed away at the age of \(84\) on May\(27\), \(2012\).
Hirzebruch was born on October\(17\), \(1927\) in Germany, and a leading figure in his generation. 他被认为是德国战后最重要的数学家。
他最主要的贡献大概是在复代数几何中围绕Riemann–Roch theorem的一系列工作，以及与Michael Atiyah合作的的 topological K-theory 的奠基性文章。
他放弃了美国的优越生活，在\(1980\) 年创立了 Max Planck Institute for Mathematics，他担任所长一直到\(1995\)年退休。下面的生平介绍也是复制自此机构官网：
For his manifold achievements Friedrich Hirzebruch received a number of awards and prizes. Among others, the Grand Merit Cross with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Wolf Prize for Mathematics, the Seki Takakazu Prize, the Lomonossov Gold Medal, the Albert Einstein Medal, and the Georg Cantor Medal of the Deutsche Mathematikervereinigung. He held honorary doctorates from over 14 universities. He was member of a number of Academies of Science and of the Order pour le mérite.
“With Friedrich Hirzebruch, mathematics has lost one of his truly great personalites. He was a wonderful human being and an eminent researcher whose contributions have shaped the entire field”, said Peter Teichner, managing director of the Max Planck Institut for Mathematics in Bonn. “Our institute, which he founded, will always remain his institute, too.”