Richard Edler von Mises (
Lemberg (now
Lviv)
19 April 1883 –
Boston,
14 July 1953) was a scientist who worked on
solid mechanics,
fluid mechanics,
aerodynamics,
aeronautics,
statistics and
probability theory. He described his work in his own words shortly before his death as being on
Although best known for his mathematical work, he also contributed to the philosophy of science as a neo-positivist, following the line of Ernst Mach. Historians of the Vienna Circle of logical empiricism recognize a "first phase" from 1907 through 1914 with Philipp Frank, Hans Hahn, Otto Neurath and Richard von Mises.[citation needed] His elder brother, Ludwig von Mises, held an opposite point of view with respect to positivism and epistemology.[1]
During his time in Istanbul, von Mises maintained close contact with Philipp Frank[2], a logical positivist and Professor of Physics in Prague until 1938. His literary interests included the Austrian novelist Robert Musil and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, on whom he became a recognized expert.[citation needed]
Richard von Mises' father was Arthur Edler von Mises, a doctor of technical sciences who worked as an expert for the Austrian State Railways and Adele von Landau. Richard was born in Lemberg, then part of the Austria-Hungary (now Lviv, Ukraine), 18 months after his brother, the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises. Richard and Ludwig also had a younger brother, who died as an infant. Richard attended the Akademisches Gymnasium in Vienna, from which he graduated with honors in Latin and mathematics in Autumn 1901. After graduating in mathematics, physics and engineering from the Vienna University of Technology, he was appointed as Georg Hamel's assistant in Brünn (now Brno). In 1905, still a student, he published an article on "Zur konstruktiven Infinitesimalgeometrie der ebenen Kurven," in the prestigious Zeitschrift für Mathematik und Physik.
