Ernst Zermelo

Ernst Zermelo
Ernst Zermelo in the 1900s
Born	(1871-07-27)27 July 1871 Berlin, German Empire
Died	21 May 1953(1953-05-21) (aged 81) Freiburg im Breisgau, West Germany
Nationality	German
Alma mater	University of Berlin
Known for	Zermelo set theory Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory Zermelo's navigation problem Zermelo ordinal Zermelo's theorem Zermelo's theorem (game theory)
Spouse	Gertrud Seekamp (1944 – death)
Awards	Ackermann–Teubner Memorial Award (1916)
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics
Institutions	University of Zürich
Doctoral advisor	Lazarus Fuchs Hermann Schwarz
Doctoral students	Stefan Straszewicz [pl]

Ernst Friedrich Ferdinand Zermelo (/zɜːrˈmɛloʊ/, German: [tsɛɐ̯ˈmeːlo]; 27 July 1871 – 21 May 1953) was a German logician and mathematician, whose work has major implications for the foundations of mathematics. He is known for his role in developing Zermelo–Fraenkel axiomatic set theory and his proof of the well-ordering theorem. Furthermore, his 1929^[1] work on ranking chess players is the first description of a model for pairwise comparison that continues to have a profound impact on various applied fields utilizing this method.