Albrecht Dold (5 August 1928 – 26 September 2011) was a German mathematician specializing in algebraic topology who proved the DoldâÂÂThom theorem, the DoldâÂÂKan correspondence, and introduced Dold manifolds, DoldâÂÂPuppe stabilization, and Dold fibrations.
Albrecht Dold was born in Triberg, and studied mathematics and physics at Heidelberg University, earning a Ph.D. degree in 1954 under the direction of Herbert Seifert. He visited the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in 1956âÂÂ58, and taught at Columbia University in 1960âÂÂ62 and at the University of Zürich in 1962âÂÂ63. In 1963 he returned to Heidelberg, where he stayed most of his career, till his retirement in 1996.
Dold's work in algebraic topology, in particular, his work on fixed-point theory has made him known in economics as well as mathematics. His book "Lectures on Algebraic Topology" is a standard reference among economists as well as mathematicians. He had 19 doctoral students, including Mónica Clapp, Eberhard Freitag, Volker Puppe, and Carl-Friedrich Bödigheimer, as well as 58 descendants.
Dold was married to Yvonne Dold-Samplonius, a distinguished historian of mathematics.