Martin Davis is best known for his early work on automated deduction and for his contributions to the negative solution of Hilbert's tenth problem.

Martin David Davis was born in New York City in 1928. After early schooling in the local area he became an undergraduate student of Emil Leon Post's at the City College of New York, gaining his B.S. in 1948 and his M.A. in 1949 from Princeton. He completed his Ph.D. at Princeton in 1950, where he worked under Alonzo Church. All three degrees were in the field of mathematics. Between 1950 and 1952 Davis was a research instructor in mathematics at the University of Illinois. Upon leaving this position he became a visiting member at the School of Mathematics, Institute for Advanced Study, where he remained until 1954. From 1954 to 1955 he was assistant professor of mathematics at the University of California, Davis. In 1955 Davis moved to Ohio where...