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Today is Richard Courant's Birthday!
Happy Birthday
Courant!

Born:  January 8, 1888
in Lublinitz, Germany

Died:  January 27, 1972
in New York

Courant had a long and distinguished career as a mathematician. Perhaps his most famous achievement was the publication of the book Methoden der Mathematischen Physik in 1924 with David Hilbert. Courant is considered to be the originator of the finite element method, a powerful technique for approximately solving certain partial differential equations. He was instrumental in creating a world famous mathematical sciences institute at New York University, which is now named in his honor—the Courant Institute.