When observing the recent past of mathematical history, you encounter the name Nicolas Bourbaki quite often. The reason for this is quite simple, actually. Nicolas Bourbaki, born 1935, might be the author of the most math books in history. More importantly, he has written books ranging from mathematical history to algebraic topology, and even calculus. Where it becomes mysterious, however, is that not a single person has seen him. That is because no one by the name of Nicolas Bourbaki has ever lived.
In 1914, a state of emergency was declared in France and nearly everyone was drafted into the military. The consequent blow to the education system of high schools and universities was massive. Students in France were not getting the education they needed and therefore mathematicians were not being raised. France needed renowned mathematicians like Fermat and Poincare once again.
In Germany, the opposite was true. Even though the war raged on, brilliant mathematicians like David Hilbert, Helmut Hasse, Emmy Noether, Wolfgang Krull, Emil Artin, and Bartel Leendert Van der Waerden were brought up and learned the fundamental study of math, Algebra.
A group of patriotic mathematicians, who at the time studied at École normale supérieure, decided that France had fallen…
