Linton Remembered for Teaching Mathematics at Wesleyan for 43 Years

Fred E. J. Linton, professor of mathematics, emeritus, died Sept. 2 at the age of 79.

Linton was born in Italy to parents who were escaping to the United States from Hitler’s Germany. He studied mathematics at Yale and received his PhD from Columbia, then came directly to Wesleyan as an assistant professor in 1963. He became a full professor in 1972 and continued to teach mathematics here until his retirement in 2006, after a total of 43 years at Wesleyan. Linton supervised seven PhD students at Wesleyan, including one of the first Wesleyan doctoral students.

Linton was a highly respected mathematician whose area of research focused on category theory. He participated in many scientific conferences over the years and his papers on functorial semantics were quite famous. Linton also engaged deeply in other interests including international folk dancing, which he enjoyed throughout his entire adult life, classical music, traveling, and Indian literature and philosophy. He and his wife, Barbara Mikolajewska, published 12 volumes of the Polish translation of the Sanskrit epic poem, the “Mahabharata.”

Memorial contributions can be made to the Louis August Jonas Foundation (LAJF) and Camp Rising Sun (CRS), an international, full-scholarship leadership program, at 77 Bleecker St, C2-13, New York, NY 10012 or by e-mail at contact@lajf.org.