Coates, John Henry (1945 - 2022)

Summary

John Coates was a mathematician who gained an international reputation for his study of elliptical curves. His research included Iwasawa theory, number theory and arithmetical algebraic geometry, of which he was considered a pioneer. In the new millennium he extended his interests to various non-commutative situations, working with eminent number theorists such as Kazuya Kato from Japan and Sujatha Ramdorai from India. Several of his papers, written with colleagues, were landmark contributions in their field. Early in his career Coates held positions at Harvard and Stanford Universities, U.S.A., and briefly was Professor at the Australian National University. In 1987 he became Sadleirian Chair of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, from which chair he retired in 2012. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, London, in 1985.

Details

"John Coates made important contributions to the theory of numbers, in particular to the study of cyclotomic fields, elliptic curves and Iwasawa theory. In addition to his own important contributions, he was a stimulating influence on colleagues and students. Together with his pupil Andrew Wiles, he achieved the first major breakthrough towards a proof of the Birch-Swinnerton-Dyer conjectures." [from Royal Society, London https://royalsociety.org/people/john-coates-11240/ 21/10/2025]

Chronology

1969

Education - PhD, University of Cambridge

1969 - 1972

Career position - Assistant Professor, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, .U.S.A.

1972 - 1975

Career position - Associate Professor, Stanford University, California, U.S.A.

1975 - 1977

Career position - Lecturer in pure mathematics and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge

1977

Career position - Professor, Australian National University

1978 - 1985

Career position - Professor, Université de Paris, Orsay, France

1985 - 1986

Career position - Professor and director of mathematics, École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France

1985 - 2022

Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)

1987 - 2012

Career position - Sadleirian Chair of Mathematics, University of Cambridge

1988 - 1990

Career position - President, London Mathematical Society

1991 - 1995

Career position - Vice-President, International Mathematical Union

1991 - 1997

Career position - Head, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, University of Cambridge

1992 - 1994

Career position - Member of Council, Royal Society, London

1997

Award - Senior Whitehead Prize for "his fundamental research in number theory and for his many contributions to mathematical life both in the UK and internationally", London Mathematical Society

2012

Life event - Retired

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• Coates, J. H.; van der Poorten, A. J., 'Kurt Mahler 1903-1988', Historical Records of Australian Science, 9 (4) (1993), 369-385. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9930940369. Details
• Coates, John Henry and Van per Poorten, A. J., 'Kurt Mahler, 26 July 1903 - 26 February 1988', Biographical memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 39 (1994), 265-97. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1994.0016. Details
• Delbourgo, Daniel, 'John Henry Coates, FRS 1945 - 2022', Gazette of the Australian Mathematical Society, 49 (3) (2022), 115-7, https://austms.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Jul22-493.pdf. Details

Resource Sections

• Coates, J. H.; and van der Poorten, A. J., 'Kurt Mahler 1903-1988', in Australian Academy of Science Biographical Memoirs, Australian Academy of Science, 2006, https://www.science.org.au/fellowship/fellows/biographical-memoirs/kurt-mahler-1903-1988. Details