This weekend, renowned mathematician
John F. Nash, Jr. and his wife, Alicia Lopes-Harrison de Lardé were tragically killed in a taxi accident.
John and Alicia were on their way back from the airport to their home in West Windsor Township , New Jersey ,
where John served as Senior Research Mathematician at Princeton University Norway
The movie A Beautiful Mind brought attention to
the work of John Nash, along with his lifelong struggle with schizophrenia and
the unique relationship he shared with his brilliant wife, Alicia.
He and Alicia met at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, where she studied physics and he taught advanced calculus. She was
one of only 16 women entering the M.I.T class of 1955. It was her dream
to become the next Marie Curie.
They married in 1957, and John was awarded a tenured
position in 1958. Soon, however, the first signs of the schizophrenia, which
was to plague him for many years, became apparent. Alicia chose to have him
hospitalized for care, and suffered greatly worrying about him and their new
born son.
The stress of the illness caused the couple to divorce in
1963. When John finally was able to leave the hospital in 1970, however, Alicia
invited him to stay at her home to be near her and their son and to have some
stability.
Nash’s condition began to slowly improve and he was able to
resume teaching at Princeton and eventually
resumed his relationship with Alicia. They were remarried in 2001.
Russell Crowe, who played John Nash in A Beautiful Mind, paid tribute to John and Alicia by referring to them
as, “An amazing partnership…beautiful minds, beautiful hearts.”
