Jesse Douglas

From the National Academy of Sciences:

"Jesse Douglas’s work on differential equations allowed him to solve a mathematical problem that had remained unanswered since it was first proposed in 1760. He presented a solution to the Plateau problem: how to find the minimal surface bounded by a contour. He published his work as 'Solution of the Problem of Plateau' in the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society in 1931. He was awarded the first Fields Medal in 1936 for his discovery."

"Jesse Douglas," National Academy of Sciences

Fields Medalist, 1936