Lars Valerian Ahlfors

From The New York Times:

"In 1936, he was awarded the first Fields Medal… Dr. Ahlfors was best known for his contributions to complex analysis, a fundamental subject that has applications ranging from number theory to modern physics. He whetted his appetite in his native Helsinki, Finland, when his mentors at Helsinki University interested him in the analysis of mathematical and algebraic complexes. His research in Helsinki and at the Polytechnic Institute in Zurich resulted in his innovative approach to conformal mapping and a noted study of the asymptotic values of an entire function."

"Lars V. Ahlfors, 89, Pioneer in the Outer Reaches of Higher Math," The New York Times

Fields Medalist, 1936