This is one of those men that makes me proud to be Dutch, and like me he has also a connection with Ireland.
He was born in Hattem, a small town in the east of the Netherlands. His father was an officer in the Dutch Navy.
Willem studied mathematics at Trinity College, Dublin, where he earned a gold medal.
He continued his studies in Edinburgh and Toronto where he received an M.A. from the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. His main academic achievement was to solve Einstein’s field equations for an infinite rotating cylinder. His work is regularly cited by those interested in time travel.
Van Stockum moved to the USA in hope of becoming an understudy to Albert Einstein.
Eventually in the spring of 1939 he gained a temporary position under Professor Oswald Veblen at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
The…
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