George David Birkhoff

b 1884—died 1944. The American mathematician was a professor at Harvard University in Boston (USA) and worked in different mathematical areas – from dynamic systems (formulating here his important «Ergodic Theorem») to gravitation (developing a mathematical gravitation model) to art and rational aesthetics. Following a yearlong trip around the world devoted to studying art, music and poetry, Birkhoff published in 1932 the article «A Mathematical Theory of Aesthetics» («The Rice Institute Pamphlet») and the book «Aesthetic Measure» (1933). Both works deal with the mathematical theory of aesthetics.