Nikolai Grigorievich Chebotaryov (often spelled Chebotarov or Chebotarev,, ) (15 June 1894 – 2 July 1947) was a Soviet mathematician. He is best known for the Chebotaryov density theorem. He was a student of Dmitry Grave, a Russian mathematician. Chebotaryov worked on the algebra of polynomials, in particular examining the distribution of the zeros. He also studied Galois theory and wrote a textbook on the subject titled Basic Galois Theory. His ideas were used by Emil Artin to prove the Artin reciprocity law. He worked with his student Anatoly Dorodnov on a generalization of the quadrature of the lune, and proved the conjecture now known as the Chebotarev theorem on roots of unity.

Early life

Nikolai Chebotaryov was born on 15 June 1894 in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Russian Empire (now in Ukraine). He entered the department of physics and mathematics at Kyiv University in 1912. In 1928, he became a professor at Kazan University, remaining there for the rest of his life. He died on 2 July 1947. He was an atheist. On 14 May 2010, a memorial plaque for Nikolai Chebotaryov was unveiled on the main administration building of I.I. Mechnikov Odessa National University.