Ismail Mohamed (mathematician)
Ismail Jacobus Mohamed (27 July 1930 – 6 July 2013) was a South African activist and mathematician. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2009.
Ismail Mohamed OMS | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office May 1994 – May 2009 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 July 1930 Barkly East, Cape Province Union of South Africa |
| Died | 6 July 2013 (aged 82) |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Spouse |
Ellen Mohamed (m. 1959) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of the Witwatersrand Queen Mary College, University of London (PhD) |
| Thesis | On series of subgroups related to groups of automorphisms (1960) |
| Doctoral advisor | Kurt Hirsch |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Mathematics |
| Sub-discipline | Group theory |
| Notable ideas | Heineken-Mohamed groups |
Long associated with the University of the Witwatersrand, Mohamed was best known academically for his work in group theory, including his work on Heineken-Mohamed groups with Hermann Heineken. At the same time, he was a labour and anti-apartheid activist from the 1950s onwards, and he was a leading figure in the Non-European Unity Movement, the Transvaal Indian Congress, and the United Democratic Front in the former Transvaal. Between stints in universities abroad, he was a defendant in the Pietermaritzburg Treason Trial of 1985. Both for his political activism and his academic achievement, he was admitted posthumously to the Order of Mapungubwe in 2014.