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Biography of Vico Volterra
Dates of Birth and Death:
() 3 May 1860 in Ancona, then Papal States, now Italy
() 11 October 1940 in Rome, Italy
Family Data:
Volterras family was very poor. The father died when Vito was two years
old.
In 1905, Volterra became a Senator. During World War I, he joined the
Italian Air Force. When in 1922 Fascism came to power in Italy, Volterra
fought it in the Italian Parliament. It was abolished in 1930, but Volterra
refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Fascist regime and had to leave
the University of Rome. During the subsequent years he mostly lived abroad,
mainly in Paris and Spain.
Education:
Volterra had a great mathematical talent. At his eleven, he studied Adrien-
Marie Legendres (1752-1833) geometry, with 13 years he dealt with the
Three Body Problem. After having attended courses in Florence, he started
to study at the University of Pisa under Enrico Betti (1823-1892) in 1878. In
1882, he nished his doctoral dissertation in Physics about hydrodynamics.
His thesis contained some results discovered by Stokes, but Volterra had
found them independently.
Professional Career:
In 1883, Volterra became professor of Mechanics at the University of Pisa
and after Bettis death, he occupied his chair of Mathematical Physics. After
serving as the chair for Mechanics at the University of Turin, he became
professor for Mathematical Physics in Rome in 1900. After World War I, he
dealt with Mathematical Biology.
Volterra worked on the theory of functions (functional analysis, partial dif-
ferential and integral equations (integral equation of Volterra type).
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Publications:
Opere matematiche, memorie e note, 5. vols. (Roma: Accademia dei
Lincei 1881-1955-1962).
Giorgio Israel, Ana Millan Gasca (eds.), The biology of numbers: the
corrspondence of Vito Volterra on mathematical biology (Basel 2002).
Sopra alcuni problemi della teoria del potenziale (Pisa 1983) (Habil.schrift).
Sui fondamenti della teoria della equazione dierentiali lineari, 2 vols.
(Napoli, Roma 1887-1889).
Sui tentativi d applicazione delle matematiche alle scien ze biologiche e
sociali, Discorso inaugurale, Annuario della reale Universit`a di Roma
(1901) pp. 3-28, repr: Giornale degli economisti 23, pp. 436-458;
Archivio di Fisiologia 3 (1906) pp. 175-191, and in: Opere, vol. 3,
pp. 14-29, French: La revue du mois (1906) pp. 1-20.
Sur lequiblibre des corps elastiques multiplement connexes (Paris 1907).
Lecons sur lintegration des equations dierentelles aux derivees par-
tielles: professees `a Stockholm (Paris 1912).
Lectures delivered at the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the
foundation of Clark University..., Worcester, Mass., September 7-11,
1909 (Worcester, Mass. 1912).
Henri Poincare (Paris ca. 1912).
The theory of permutable functions (Princeton 1912).
Lecons sur les fonctions de lignes: professees `a la Sorbonne en 1912
(Paris 1913).
Lecons sur les equations integrales et les equations integro-dierentielles:
lecons professees `a la Faculte des sciences de Rome en 1910 (Paris
1913).
Drei Vorlesungen uber neuere Fortschritte der mathematischen Physik:
gehalten 1909 an der Clark-Universitat von Vito Volterra (Leipzig,
Berlin 1914).
The theory of permutable function (London 1915).
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Saggi scientici (Bologna 1920, 1994).
Flow of electricity in a magnetic eld (Berkeley 1921; New York 1966).
Together with Joseph Per`es: Lecons sur la composition et es fonctions
permutables (Paris 1924).
Variazioni e uttuazioni del numero dindividui in specie animali con-
viventi, Memorie della Reale Aaccademia dei Lince 2 (1926) pp. 31-
113, repr. Opere, vol. 5, pp. 1-111.
Together with S.J. Lotka: Fluctuations in the abundance of a species
considered mathematically, Nature 118 (1926) pp. 558-560; 119 (1927)
pp. 12-13.
Theory of functionals and of integral and integro-dierential equations
(London 1930; New York 1959; Mineola, NY 2005), Spanish: Teoria
de las funcionales y de las ecuaciones integrales e integro-diferenciales
(Madrid 1927), French: Theorie generale des fonctionelles (Paris 1936).
Lecons sur la theorie mathematique de la lutte pour la vie (Paris 1931),
repr. Paris 1990, deutsch: Der Kampf ums Dasein. Eine biologisch-
mathematische Darstellung der Lebensgemeinschaften und biologischen
Gleichgewichte (Berlin 1939), englisch: The struggle for existence (Lei-
den 1954).
Le calcul des variations, son evolution et ses progr`es, son role dans la
physique mathematique (Praha-Brno 1932).
Together with U. DAncona: Les associations biologiques au point de
vue mathematique (Paris 1935).
Principes de biologie mathematique, Acta biotheoretica 3 (1937) pp.
6-39, repr. Opere, vol. 5, pp. 414-447.
Conferences sur quelques questions de mecanique et de physique mathematique:
rotation des corps dans lesquels existent des mouvements internes (Paris
1938).
Fluctuations dans la lutte pour la vie, leurs lois fondamentales et de
reciprocite (Paris 1938).
Operations innitesimales lineaires: applications aux equations dierentielles
et fonctionelles (Paris 1938).
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Sur les distorsions des corps elastiques (theorie et applications) (Paris
1960).
Francesco M. Scudo (ed.), The golden age of theoretical ecology: 1923-
1940; a collection of works by V. Volterra, V.A. Kostitzin, A.J. Lotka
and A.N. Kolmogoro (Berlin 1978).
The biology of numbers: the Correspondence of Vito Volterra on math-
ematical biology (Basel 2002).
Scientic Awards:
In 1938 the University of St Andrew oered Volterra an honorary degree but
his doctor did not permit him to travel to Scotland to receive it.
Bibliography:
Charles Coulston Gillespie (ed.), Dictionary of scientic biography, vol.
XIV (New York 1976) pp. 85-88.
U. DAncona, Dellinuenza della stasi peschereccia nel periodo 1914-18
sul patrimonio ittico dellAlto Adriatico, Memorie del Regio Comitato Ta-
lassograco Italiano 126 (1926).
U. DAncona, Der Kampf ums Dasein. Eine biologisch-mathematische
Darstellung der Lebensgemeinschaften und biologischen Gleichgewichte (Berlin
1939), englisch: The struggle for existence (Leiden 1954).
Claudio Barigozzi, Vito Volterra Symposium on Mathematical Models in
Biology..., Rome, Dec. 17-21, 1979 (Berlin 1980).
Elart von Collani (ed.), Dening the Science of Stochastics (Lemgo 2004).
Convegno internazionale in memoria di Vito Volterra (Roma, 8-11 ottobre
1990) (Roma 1992).
Alan Feldstein, Volterra centennial: selected papers. Second International
Conference on the numerical solution of Volterra and Delay Equations, May
1996 (Amsterdam 1997).
G. Fichera, Vito Volterra and the brht of functional analysis, Develop-
ment of mathematics 1900-1950 (Basel 1994) pp. 171-183.
G.F. Gause, Verications experimentales de la theorie mathematique de la
lutte pour la vie (Paris 1935).
Judith Goodstein, The Volterra chronicles: the life and times of an ex-
traordinary mathematician, 1860-1940 (Providence, RI 2007).
Angelo Guarraggio, Le memorie di Volterra e Peano sul movimento dei
poli, Archive for History of Exact Sciences 31 (1984) pp. 97-126.
Angelo Guerraggio, Giovanni Paolini, Vito Volterra (Roma 2008).
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G. Israel, Volterra Archive at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, His-
toria Mathematica 9 (1982) pp. 229-238.
G. Israel, Volterras analytical mechanics of biological associations, Archives
Internationales dHistoire des Sciences 41 (1991) pp. 57-104, 307-352.
G. Israel, Volterra Archive at the Accademia dei Lincei, Historia Math-
ematica 9 (1982) pp. 229-238.
G. Israel, The emergence of biomathematics and the case of population
dynamics: a revival of mechanical reductionism and Darwinism, Science in
Context 6 (1993) pp. 469-509.
G. Israel, Millan Gasca, The biology of numbers. The correspondence of
Vito Volterra on mathematical biology (Basel 2002).
G. Israel, Vito Volterra, Book on Mathematical Biology (1931), in: I.
Grattan-Guiness (ed.), Landmark. Writings in Western Mathematics 1640-
1940 (Amsterdam, Boston 2005) pp. 936-944.
S.E. Kingsland, Modeling nature: episodes in the history of population ecol-
ogy (Chicago 1985).
V.A. Kostitzin, Symbiose, parasitisme et evolution (etude mathematique)
(Paris 1934).
V.A. Kostitzin, Biologie mathematique (Paris 1937).
G. Krall, Vito Volterra: La matematica e la scienza del suo tempo,
Civilt`a delle Macchine 3 (1955) pp. 64-77.
Sandra Linguerri, Vito Volterra e il Comitato Talassograco Italiano: im-
prese per aria e per mare nellItalia Unita (1883-1930) (Firenze 2005).
A. Lotka, Elements of physical biology (New York 1925).
Arnaldo Masotti, Bibliograe di Tullio Levi-Civita e Vito Volterra, Mi-
lan Journal of Mathematics 17 (1946) pp. 16-61.
Giovanni Paolini, Vito Volterra e il suo tempo 1860-1940: mostra storico-
documentaria (Roma 1990).
Pico Mauro, Vito Volterra, La ricerca scientica 26 (1956) pp. 3277-3289.
Henri Poincare, Loeuvre scientique, Loeuvre philosophique par Vito Volterra,
Prof. Jacques Hadamard, Paul Langevin, Prof. Pierre Boutroux (Paris 1914).
F.M. Scudo, The Golden Age of theoretical ecology: a conceptual ap-
praisal, Revue Europeenne des sciences sociales 22 (1984) pp. 11-64.
Raaella Simili, Alberto Conte (eds.), Scienta, tecnologia e istituzioni in
Europa: Vito Volterra e lorigine del CNR (Bari 1993).
L. Tanzi Cattabianchi, I contributi di Vito Volterra alla balistica di aero-
mobili, Rivista di Matematica dellUniversit`a di Parma 14 (1988) pp. 87-
105.
Luciano de Vito, Sulla equazione integro-dierenziale di tipo ellitico di
Volterra (Torino 1961).
E.T. Whittacker, Vito Volterra, Obituary notices of Fellows of the Royal
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Society of London 3 (1941) pp. 619-729.
J.J. OConnor, E.F. Robertson, http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/ his-
tory/Mathematician/Volterra.html (20 February 2006).
J.J. OConnor, E.F. Robertson, http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/ his-
tory/References/Volterra.html (20 February 2006).
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vito Volterra (05 Otober 2005).
Author(s) of this contribution:
Claudia von Collani
Version: 1.00