| Tadao Tannaka | |
| Birth Date: | 27 December 1908 |
| Birth Place: | Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan |
| Death Place: | Tokyo, Japan |
| Field: | Mathematics |
| Work Institutions: | Tohoku UniversityTohoku Gakuin UniversityInstitute for Advanced Study |
| Alma Mater: | Tohoku University |
| Known For: | Tannaka–Krein dualityTannakian formalism |
| Prizes: | 3rd Class Order of the Rising Sun (1980) |
was a Japanese mathematician who worked in algebraic number theory.
Tannaka was born in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture on December 27, 1908.[1] After receiving a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Tohoku Imperial University in 1932, he was appointed a lecturer in the university in 1934 and received a Doctor of Science degree from the university in 1941. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1942 and full professor in 1945.[1] Tannaka was a member at the Institute for Advanced Study from September 1955 to April 1957.[2] Tannaka retired from Tohoku University in 1972, after which he served as a full professor at Tohoku Gakuin University until 1981.
Tannaka was an editor of the Tohoku Mathematical Journal and a member of the board of directors of the Mathematical Society of Japan. Tannaka was also in charge of the "Mathematics Chat" article series in the monthly magazine from 1960 onwards.[3]
Tannaka died in Tokyo on October 25, 1986.[1]
Tannaka is known for developing the theory of Tannaka–Krein duality, which generalizes Pontryagin duality to noncommutative compact groups and led to the development of Tannakian formalism.[4] [1] [5]
Tannaka was a recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun (3rd Class) in 1980.[6]