Editing Max August Zorn (section)

==Life and career==
Zorn was born in [[Krefeld]], [[German Empire|Germany]]. He attended the [[University of Hamburg]]. He received his [[PhD]] in April 1930 for a thesis on [[alternative algebra]]s. He published his findings in ''[[Abhandlungen aus dem Mathematischen Seminar der Universität Hamburg]]''.<ref>M. Zorn (1930) "Theorie der alternativen Ringen", ''[[Abhandlungen aus dem Mathematischen Seminar der Universität Hamburg]]'' 8(2): 123–47</ref><ref>M. Zorn (1931) "Alternativekörper und quadratische Systeme", ''Abhandlungen aus dem mathematischen Seminar der Universität Hamburg'' 9(3/4): 395–402</ref> Zorn showed that [[split-octonion]]s could be represented by a mixed-style of matrices called [[Split-octonion#Zorn.27s vector-matrix algebra|Zorn's vector-matrix algebra]].

Max Zorn was appointed to an assistant position at the [[University of Halle]]. However, he did not have the opportunity to work there for long as he was forced to leave Germany in 1933 because of policies enacted by the [[Nazi]]s. According to grandson Eric, "[Max] spoke with a raspy, airy voice most of his life. Few people knew why, because he only told the story after significant prodding, but he talked that way because pro-Hitler thugs who objected to his politics, had battered his throat in a 1933 street fight."<ref>[[Eric Zorn]] (1993) [http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2005/08/year_three_begi.html A Math Wizard, Hero to His Family] from [[Chicago Tribune]]</ref>

Zorn immigrated to the United States and was appointed a [[Sterling Fellow]] at [[Yale University]]. While at Yale, Zorn wrote his paper "A Remark on Method in Transfinite Algebra"<ref>{{cite journal |first=Max |last=Zorn |title=A remark on method in transfinite algebra |journal=Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society |volume=41 |year=1935 |issue=10 |pages=667–670 |doi=10.1090/S0002-9904-1935-06166-X |doi-access=free }}</ref> that stated his Maximum Principle, later called [[Zorn's lemma]]. It requires a set that contains the union of any [[total order#Chains|chain]] of [[subset]]s to have one chain not contained in any other, called the [[maximal element]]. He illustrated the principle with applications in ring theory and field extensions. Zorn's lemma is an alternative expression of the [[axiom of choice]], and thus a subject of interest in [[axiomatic set theory]].

In 1936 he moved to [[UCLA]] and remained until 1946. While at UCLA Zorn revisited his study of alternative rings and proved the existence of the [[nilradical of a ring|nilradical]] of certain [[alternative ring]]s.<ref>M. Zorn (1941) Alternative rings and related questions I: existence of the radical, [[Annals of Mathematics]] 42: 676–86 {{mr|id=0005098}}</ref> According to [[Angus E. Taylor]], Max was his most stimulating colleague at UCLA.<ref>[[Angus E. Taylor]] (1984) A  Life in Mathematics Remembered, [[American Mathematical Monthly]] 91(10):613.</ref>

In 1946 Zorn became a professor at [[Indiana University (Bloomington)|Indiana University]], where he taught until retiring in 1971. He was thesis advisor for [[Israel Nathan Herstein]].

Zorn died in [[Bloomington, Indiana]], in March 1993, of congestive heart failure.<ref>{{cite news|author=Saxon, Wolfgang|title=Max A. Zorn, 86; Developed a Theory That Changed Math|date=11 March 1993|newspaper=NY Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/11/obituaries/max-a-zorn-86-developed-a-theory-that-changed-math.html}}</ref>