The Man who Saved Geometry

On November 4, CBC's Quirks & Quarks radio program interviewed Siobhan Roberts, the author of a new book about Donald Coxeter, The King of Infinite Space. Coxeter was a math professor at the University of Toronto for more the sixty years, until his death in 2003. His most astounding accomplishment was to revitalize the study of geometry in the 20th century, after it was discarded by mathematicians in the 19th century in favor of algebra. His work influenced scientists, engineers, and artists, including M.C. Escher. Best of all, you can download an mp3 of the interview (or an ogg file, if that has meaning for you) from Quirks & Quarks, or subscribe to the podcast. There is also links to the publisher page for the new book, and an earlier Quirks profile of Coxeter after his death.