László Rátz

László Rátz, born April 9, 1863 in Sopron, died September 30, 1930 in Budapest, was a Hungarian mathematics high school teacher best known for educating such people as John von Neumann and Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner. He was a legendary teacher of "Budapest-Fasori Evangélikus Gimnázium", the Budapest Lutheran Gymnasium, a famous secondary school in Budapest in Hungary.

Birthplace of László Rátz in Sopron, Hungary.

Thomb of László Rátz in Sopron, Hungary.

File:Rátz Tanár Úr Díj.jpg

Rátz Professor Honorary Award for teachers.

"Budapest-Fasori Evangélikus Gimnázium", Commemorative plaque of Jenő Wigner, János Neumann and János Harsányi, Budapest District VII, Városligeti Alley No 17-21. Also with the names of four of the teachers of Fasori Gimnázium, Ödön Hittrich, Sándor Mikola, László Rátz and János Renner.

Biography

He was born on 9 April in 1863 in Sopron,^[1] a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near the Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. His father, Ágost Rátz, was a hardware merchant and ironmonger and his mother was Emma Töpler. He graduated from the Lutheran Grammar School of Sopron in 1882. Then he attended the Science University of Budapest from 1883 to 1887. His university studies were at the Academy of Science in Budapest until 1887. He also studied philosophy at Berlin University between 4 October 1887 and 7 August 1888 and natural science at Strasbourg University from 31 October 1888. He worked as a teacher in the Main Practising Secondary School of Budapest Science University from September 1889. He took his university degree in mathematics and physics on 28 November 1890.

From 1890 he was a mathematics professor at the "Budapest-Fasori Evangélikus Gimnázium", a German-speaking Lutheran High School in Városligeti fasor 17-21 in Budapest. First (1890–1892) he was employed as a substitute teacher from 1 September 1890. Then he tenured (1892–1925) as a regular teacher from 1 September 1892 to 1925 at Budapest-Fasori Lutheran Gymnasium.

Later on he was appointed director of the Fasori Gimnázium from 1909 to 1914. He was high school principal of Fasori Gimnázium between 1909-1914. One of his successors was Sándor Mikola who was school principal of Fasori Gimnázium during the years 1928-1935.

Round the years of 1912-1921 the excellent mathematicians, physicians and chemists, including physicist Eugene Wigner (Jenő Wigner) (1902-1995) and mathematician John von Neumann (János Neumann) (1903-1957) were taught by him. At the age of 11, Eugene Wigner developed an interest in mathematical problems. From 1915 through 1919, together with John von Neumann, Wigner studied at the Fasori Evangélikus Gimnázium, where they both benefited from the instruction of the noted mathematics teacher László Rátz. Wigner received a share of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 "for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and application of fundamental symmetry principles", the other half of the award was shared between Maria Goeppert-Mayer and J. Hans D. Jensen. John von Neumann entered the German-speaking Lutheran high school Fasori Evangélikus Gimnázium in Budapest in 1911. Although his father insisted he attend school at the grade level appropriate to his age, he agreed to hire private tutors to give him advanced instruction in those areas in which he had displayed an aptitude.

László Rátz participated in the making of the mathematics curriculum of 1924 as well as the relevant instructions. While an active teacher, he was also the teacher-chairperson of Song and Music Association. After retirement he became the executive president of Former Students Association. His scientific career is significant for two reasons: on the one hand, he was a pioneer in completing the reform of teaching mathematics in secondary schools (1905-1914), and, on the other hand, he was the editor of the Journal of Secondary School Mathematics from 1896 to 1914 after Dániel Arany (1863-1945).

Between 1894–1914 Rátz was editor-in-chief of the Középiskolai Matematikai és Fizikai Lapok, the legendary highschool mathematics journal of Hungary.

Lászlo Rátz died on 30 September 1930 in Grünwald Sanatorium, a nursing home, in Budapest. An embossed marble tablet commemorates him on the wall of Budapest Lutheran Gymnasium; János Bólyai Mathematics Society organizes László Rátz Congress for secondary school mathematics teachers every year and has issued the László Rátz coin since 2000.

The reformer of teaching mathematics

The reform committee of mathematics declared at the Meran general assembly of nature examiners in Germany in 1905 that sciences also represent cultural values, not only practical benefits: therefore, they are worth being considered equal to linguistics as means of education. In Hungary the reform was conducted by Prof. Manó Beke. He, together with Gusztáv Rados and László Rátz, represented Hungary in the international reform committee from 1909. László Rátz participated in congresses organized in Cambridge and Paris. He was granted an important French award (Officer d'Académie) in 1910. In 1906 the Mathematics Reform Committee was established in Hungary, the chairperson of which was Manó Beke, its secretary was Sándor Mikola and the members included László Rátz as well. This committee performed admittedly the most productive work among the European committees. László Rátz and Sándor Mikola, as they found the changes necessary, had worked out the workable methods and curriculum of mathematics teaching. They declared that certain elements that are obtained indirectly belong to mathematics as well and they have to be confirmed in the student. The learning of mathematics has to be completed by immediate experience and lots of measuring. They also emphasized the need for mental calculation and the practice of estimating. According to their theory the students have to be encouraged to tend to know reality. They considered inevitable for the teachers to intend to form clear ideas. Finally, their brave initiatives were successful: in November 1909 Rátz and Mikola were officially permitted to teach mathematics in the Lutheran Gymnasium as they found it desirable in accordance with the reform endeavours.^[2]

From the beginning he was an active participant in a worldwide effort of science and mathematics teaching education reform; from 1909 he gets official full liberty in improving educational methods in his own high school; he becomes Officier d'Académie award at a 1910 Paris congress. The objectives of this reform were the recognition of cultural and humane values of science education, besides tangible pragmatic values. According to the objectives, mathematics has important involuntarily acquirable subconscious elements that need to be enhanced in students. The teachers strived to deliver clearly articulated concepts at the voluntary, conscious level, but more importantly, learning of mathematics has to be tightly woven together with direct experience and practice, emphasizing mental calculations and practicing estimations, allowing students to acquire a subconscious knowledge of reality from experience with quantitative relations.

The discerner and cultivator of talents

John von Neuman in the 1940s. Specifically, this image comes from Los Alamos National Laboratory, LANL.

Gábor Kornél Tolnai, Diploma Engineer, who attended the teaching of László Rátz in the years 1912-1920.

László Rátz's pupils at Budapest-Fasori Evangélikus Gimnáziuim in Budapest. Highschool class in Budapest in 1919. Eugene Wigner is in the front (first) raw, the second from the right.
In the second raw there are ten teachers sitting. László Rátz is the third one from the left. In the third raw, the fifth from the right is Gábor Kornél Tolnai, who later became a Swedish citizen.

Teachers who are capable of working with their students that are even more talented than themselves have special and unique human personalities. They willingly help them as they are more experienced in life and have obtained greater knowledge. László Rátz was one of the teachers with such features. It was him who recognized the talents with the help of his excellent knowledge and subtle senses and treated them as his colleagues or co-workers. He invited them for a discussion in a café in the company of some secondary school and university teachers. It was a very significant event at that time because teachers were respected not only by the students but the whole society. He recognized the talent of his most famous students (János Neumann, Jenő Wigner) early and supported their progress. For instance, when he was unable to impart more of his knowledge to János Neumann, he asked Mihály Fekete, a university teacher, to teach him. Additionally, he invited Wigner to his home and handed over some books of "extraordinary interest" to read, and they discussed the content at the next occasion.^[3]

Recognizer and nurturer of talent

It is a rare, special human trait in teachers to be able to deal with students more talented than themselves, being able to kindly and effectively transfer their life experience and body of knowledge to those more gifted. László Rátz was such a teacher, with refined sense for talent that he dealt with as equals, as colleagues, as peers. He invited his own students to weekend cafe chit-chats, into the company of his university colleagues, which meant a great deal in days and times when teachers had the highest esteem in a society. For instance, when he felt he could no longer provide anything more to John von Neumann, he requested the university professor Michael Fekete to help out and teach him. He invited Eugene Wigner into his own home, provided him with "especially interesting" books, whose contents they would later discuss in detail.

Eugene Wigner about his teacher László Rátz

Eugene Paul Wigner (1902-1995) in 1963, when he was awarded his Nobel Prize in Physics. Author: Nobel foundation.

Eugene Wigner was asked in the late 1970s Do you remember Rátz? to which he answered: There he is! and pointed to a picture of Rátz on his office wall.

During the years 1912-1920 Eugene Wigner was taught by László Rátz and in his acceptance speech for his Nobel Prize (in 1963), dr. Eugene Wigner said:^[4]

"there were many superb teachers at the Lutheran gymnasium. But the greatest was my mathematics teacher László Rátz. Rátz was known not only throughout our gymnasium but also by the church and government hierarchy and among many of the teachers in the country schools. I still keep a photograph of Rátz in my workroom because he had every quality of a miraculous teacher: He loved teaching. He knew the subject and how to kindle interest in it. He imparted the very deepest understanding. Many gymnasium teachers had great skill, but no one could evoke the beauty of the subject like Rátz. Rátz cared deeply about mathematics as a discipline.

...

He took special care to find his better students and to inspire them. Rátz felt so privileged to tutor a phenomenon like Neumann Jancsi that he refused any money for it.

...

Who could know that this precocious 10-year-old would someday become a great mathematician? Somehow Rátz knew. And he discovered it very quickly. Rátz was just as nice to me and nearly as devoted as he was to Neumann. Rátz was the only gymnasium teacher to invite me into his home. There were no private lessons. But Rátz lent me many well-chosen books, which I read thoroughly and made sure to return in good condition."