Born in Ukraine near Odessa, Israel Moiseevich Gelfand never finished high school. He never attended college as an undergraduate. Dr. Gelfand went to Moscow when he was 16 or 17, working at odd jobs. Already interested in mathematics, he attended seminars, and at the age of 19, he was admitted directly into graduate school at Moscow State University, studying under Kolmogorov. Dr. Gelfand completed his ordinary doctorate in 1935 and then a higher doctor of mathematics degree in 1940.
