Andrei Nikolaevich Kolmogorov made major contributions to almost all areas of mathematics and many fields of science and is considered one of the 20th century's most eminent mathematicians. He was the founder of modern probability theory, having formulated its axiomatic foundations and developed many of its mathematical tools. Kolmogorov also helped make advances in many applied sciences, from physics to linguistics. A great teacher, he did much to keep the Soviet Union in the forefront of research in theoretical and applied mathematics and was responsible for reforms in mathematics education at the elementary and high-school levels.

Kolmogorov was born in the town of Tambov in central Russia on April 25, 1903. His father, Nikolai Kataev, became a professional agriculturalist and was killed during World War I. His mother, Mariya Yakovlevna Kolmogorova, was not formally married to his father and died during his birth. Her sister, Vera Yakovlevna Kolmogorova, adopted and...