The Great Prize, the framework

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe the setting for the beginning of our story: the topic of the Great Prize of mathematical sciences, the historical context in mathematics and the historical context in general, namely the First World War. After a quick introduction of the various characters and of their roles, we establish some notation and give the first pertinent examples of the mathematical question under consideration, that is, the iteration of rational functions, setting it as it was when the story began.