10 Facts About Israel Halperin

Israel Halperin was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants Solomon Halperin and Fanny Lundy.

Israel Halperin enlisted with the Canadian Army in 1942, serving until 1945 in Ottawa.

Under the Royal Canadian Artillery, Israel Halperin assisted with the Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment.

In February 1946, Israel Halperin was arrested and accused of espionage in Canada, in connection with the defection of Igor Gouzenko, a Soviet cipher clerk, which occurred in Ottawa in September 1945.

Israel Halperin resumed teaching at Queen's, but not until 1948, following more legal hurdles which were raised by Queen's University leadership.

Israel Halperin taught at Queen's until 1966, earning tenure as a full professor.

Israel Halperin then moved to the University of Toronto until his retirement in 1976, by which time he had authored more than 100 academic papers.

In 1980, the Israel Halperin Prize was set up by the Canadian Annual Symposium on Operator Theory and Operator Algebras to be awarded to a member of the Canadian mathematical community who has recently obtained a doctorate and has made contributions to operator theory or operator algebras, in honor of Halperin.

Israel Halperin was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from Queen's in 1989, and was made a Member of the Order of Canada, both for his humanitarian work.

Israel Halperin was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1953, and won the Henry Marshall Tory Medal in 1967.