William (Vilim) Feller born Vilibald Srećko Feller (July 7, 1906 – January 14, 1970), was a Croatian-American mathematician specializing in probability theory.
Feller was born in Zagreb to Ida Oemichen-Perc, a Croatian-Austrian Catholic, and Eugene Victor Feller, who was born to a Polish Jew named David Feller and an Austrian Catholic named Elsa Holzer. Eugen was a famous chemist and created Elsa fluid named after his mother. According to Gian-Ca...
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William (Vilim) Feller born Vilibald Srećko Feller (July 7, 1906 – January 14, 1970), was a Croatian-American mathematician specializing in probability theory.
Feller was born in Zagreb to Ida Oemichen-Perc, a Croatian-Austrian Catholic, and Eugene Victor Feller, who was born to a Polish Jew named David Feller and an Austrian Catholic named Elsa Holzer. Eugen was a famous chemist and created Elsa fluid named after his mother. According to Gian-Carlo Rota, Feller's father's surname was a "Slavic tongue twister", which William changed at the age of twenty—but as can be seen, this claim was false. His christened name, Vilibald, was chosen by his Roman Catholic mother for the saint day of his birthday. In his school documentation, the small municipality of Donja Stubica in Zagorje is mentioned. This is the birthplace of his father, who was an apothecary and owner of a company producing hygienic utensils and cosmetics.
William finished his elementary and middle education in Zagreb, as well...
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