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On this biography page of André Bloch, it is said that

The Académie des Sciences awarded him the Becquerel Prize just before his death.

This claim is also repeated in PlanetMath, Wikiversity and also Hersh & John-Steiner's book: Loving and Hating Mathematics: Challenging the Myths of Mathematical Life (+link).

There are several other resources backing this claim. But on the other hand, the official website of the Becquerel Prize says: (emphasis mine)

The Alexandre Edmond Becquerel Prize was established in 1989 by the European Commission at the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Becquerel’s classical experiment in which he discovered the photovoltaic effect. Its purpose is to honour scientific, technical or managerial merit in the development of photovoltaic solar energy, attained over a long period of continuous achievements, or very exceptionally, for some extraordinary invention or discovery.

So clearly, this Becquerel Prize has nothing to do with mathematics. I suspected that there was another Becquerel Prize in 1930s or 1940s, which was awarded by the Académie des Sciences. But I found no record of that except the Wikipedia page of Yvette Cauchois, who was a physicist known for her contributions to x-ray spectroscopy and x-ray optics:

Henri Becquerel Prize from the French Academy of Sciences (1935)

Therefore this limited sample just strengthens my suspicion that there might no Becquerel Prize for mathematicians. And this part of André Bloch's biography also adds up to the other myths surrounding him.

So my questions, as the title says, are:

  • Was there a Becquerel Prize for mathematicians during that era?
  • Did André Bloch receive it?
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  • $\begingroup$ The link to Becquerel Prize you cite says the prize was established in 1989. Bloch dies in 1948. So he definitely could not receive this prize. But perhaps some other prize from Becquerel foundation. $\endgroup$
    – Alexandre Eremenko
    Commented Feb 9, 2021 at 2:34

2 Answers 2

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Indeed, the Henry Becquerel Foundation awarded a prize of 6000 Francs to André Bloch for his work on the theory of functions, announced posthumously on 13 December 1948.

enter image description here source

According to this biography, Bloch was informed of the prize shortly before his death on 11 October 1948.

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    $\begingroup$ According to wikipedia, Henri Becquerel (with i and not y) is the son of Alexandre Edmond Becquerel. So this is not the same prize. $\endgroup$
    – F. C.
    Commented Feb 8, 2021 at 16:08
  • $\begingroup$ It is amazing that Andre Bloch could receive a prize. $\endgroup$
    – Alexandre Eremenko
    Commented Feb 9, 2021 at 2:39
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    $\begingroup$ well, he received the prize for his mathematics, the idea being that his sins would be judged elsewhere $\endgroup$
    – Carlo Beenakker
    Commented Feb 9, 2021 at 7:44
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    $\begingroup$ @F.C.: The question points out that the modern “Becquerel prize” was founded in 1989, so OP is presumably well aware that whatever prize Bloch received was not the same one. $\endgroup$
    – Peter LeFanu Lumsdaine
    Commented Feb 9, 2021 at 15:44
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    $\begingroup$ FWIW, I found out that Bloch was not the only mathematician in this case: Pierre Fatou was awarded the Becquerel prize in 1918; he was a knight of the Legion of Honour (1923). He was the president of the French mathematical society in 1927. $\endgroup$
    – polfosol
    Commented Feb 9, 2021 at 16:15
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I was looking for the same claim about another mathematician (namely Vazgain Avanissian) that I came to this question. Following the clues left by the previous answer and the comments, I found a mention of Pierre Fatou in Project Euclid. Fatou has been mentioned in the OP's comment. However, the piece below includes added information. It neither answer OP's questions asked in the body of the question, nor any information about the mathematician whom I am looking for. But it gives an answer to the "any" part of the title: "any other mathematician ...". I hope, this in turns leads someone else to a better picture of the situation.
enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ The title reads: "...any other mathematician receives the Becquerel Prize?" I only mentioned Vazgain Avanissian as the background story of my answer and not as a question $\endgroup$
    – Amir Asghari
    Commented Jun 3, 2022 at 12:53
  • $\begingroup$ @AmirAsghari: It seems that you hadn't read the other answers and its comments before posting yours. $\endgroup$
    – Alex M.
    Commented Jun 3, 2022 at 13:21
  • $\begingroup$ this biography makes no mention of a Becquerel prize for Avanissian $\endgroup$
    – Carlo Beenakker
    Commented Jun 3, 2022 at 13:36
  • $\begingroup$ @AlexM. Belive me I did, and I read the OP's comment mentioning the name of Fatou. And yet, I decided to share what I've shared because it includes new information. $\endgroup$
    – Amir Asghari
    Commented Jun 3, 2022 at 13:48
  • $\begingroup$ @NawafBou-Rabee or the title of the question can be changed? $\endgroup$
    – Amir Asghari
    Commented Jun 3, 2022 at 13:49

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