Re: Bourbaki?

In article <1170625628.384571.188930@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> ediebur@xxxxxxx writes:
I just picked up a book in the local library that is a biography of
Coxeter ("The Infinite Mind"). In early pages the author describes
Bourbaki as a real person. Now its my impression that Bourbaki is a
name adopted by a group of French mathematicians in the early part of
the 20th century but I coudn't believe that an author who had gone to
the trouble of writing a biography would make such a mistake. Am I
missing something. Am I wrong about Bourbaki?

Depends. Bourbaki is adopted as name by a group of French mathematicians.
It was also the name of a real person (a particularly unsuccesful French
general). Originally it was a joking adaption, but became more serious
in the course of times. The family of the real general was not amused.
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