René Frédéric Thom is best known as the founder of catastrophe theory, a field with numerous applications in the exact and social sciences. Catastrophe theory provides models for the description of continuous processes that experience abrupt change. Thom is the recipient of the Fields Medal and the Grand Prix Scientifique de la Ville de Paris. He is a member of the French Académie Royale des Sciences and has been named a Knight of the Legion of Honor in France.

Thom was born on September 2, 1923, at Montbéliard, France, to Gustav Thom, a pharmacist, and Louise Ramel. He married Suzanne Heimlinger on April 9, 1949, and they have three children, Françoise, Elizabeth, and Christian. Thom's formal education took place at the Collége Cuvier in Montbeliard and later in Paris at the Lycée Saint-Louis. After earning a master's...