Sierpiński’s Space-Filling Curve

Abstract

Waclaw Sierpiński (1882–1969) was born and died in Warsaw, Poland. In 1899, he entered the (Russian) University of Warsaw. He graduated in 1904 with a degree in science. He went on to teach grammar school and participated in the great school strike that was connected with the 1905 revolution. He then went on to Cracow where, at the University of Cracow, he received his doctor’s degree in 1906. After teaching at a grammar school, he became docent at the University of L’vov in 1908 and professor in 1910. At that time, he also changed the focus of his studies from number theory to topology, not returning to number theory until around 1950. In his publications during the last twenty years of his life, number theory was the predominant topic. He was a most prolific mathematician, having published about 700 papers and books, about 600 of which were in topology. In 1914, he was interned by the Tsarist authorities.