Laurence Chisholm Young (14 July 1905 – 24 December 2000) was a British mathematician known for his contributions to measure theory, the calculus of variations, optimal control theory, and potential theory. He was the son of William Henry Young and Grace Chisholm Young, both prominent mathematicians. He moved to the US in 1949 but never sought American citizenship. The concept of Young measure is named after him: he also introduced the concept of the generalized curve and a concept of generalized surface which later evolved in the concept of varifold. The Young integral also is named after him and has now been generalised in the theory of rough paths.

Life and academic career

Laurence Chisholm Young was born in Göttingen, the fifth of the six children of William Henry Young and Grace Chisholm Young. He held positions of Professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was also a chess grandmaster.

Selected publications

Books

Papers

Biographical and general references

Scientific references