LEVI-CIVITA, TULLIO

born March 29, 1873, Padua, Italy died Dec. 29, 1941, Rome Italian mathematician known for his work in differential calculus and relativity. At the University of Padua (189195) he studied under Curbastro Gregorio Ricci, with whom he later collaborated in founding the absolute differential calculus (now known as tensor analysis). Levi-Civita became an instructor there in 1898 and a professor of rational mechanics in 1902. He taught at the University of Rome from 1918 until 1938, when he was removed because of his Jewish origins. With Ricci, Levi-Civita wrote the pioneering work on the calculus of tensors, Mthodes de calcul differntiel absolu et leurs applications (1900; Methods of the Absolute Differential Calculus and Their Applications). In 1917 Levi-Civita made his most important contribution to this branch of mathematics, the introduction of the concept of parallel displacement in general curved spaces. This concept immediately found many applications and in relativity is the basis of the unified representation of electromagnetic and gravitational fields. In pure mathematics as well, his concept was instrumental in the development of modern differential theory of generalized spaces in topology. Levi-Civita concerned himself also with differential geometry, hydrodynamics, and engineering. He made great advances in the study of the three-body problem, which involves the motion of three bodies as they revolve around each other. His Questioni di meccanica classica e relativistica (1924; Questions of Classical and Relativistic Mechanics) and Lezioni di calcolo differenziale assoluto (1925; The Absolute Differential Calculus) became standard works, and his Lezioni di meccanica razionale, 3 vol. (192327; Lessons in Rational Mechanics), is a classic.