Jean-Pierre Serre is 100 years old today. Born 15 September 1926 in Bages, Pyrénées Orientales, France, Serre is a French mathematician known for contributions to algebraic topology, algebraic geometry, and algebraic number theory. He was a member of Bourbaki.

His parents, Jean Serre and Adèle Diet, were pharmacists. In 1932 he began primary school at the École de Vauvert, and by age seven or eight he enjoyed mathematics. In 1937 he moved to the Lycée Alphonse-Daudet in Nîmes. His mother's calculus books from the University of Montpellier helped him learn derivatives, integrals, and series.

At the Lycée in 1943-44, his teacher nicknamed "Le Barbu" coached him for the Concours General in mathematics, which he sat in 1944 and placed first. He earned his Bachelier ès sciences et ès lettres in 1944 and remained until 1945 preparing for the École Normale Supérieure in Paris.

From 1945 to 1948 Serre studied at the École Normale Supérieure, earning his Agrégé des sciences mathematique in 1948. He became the youngest member of the Bourbaki group. He married Josiane Heulot on 10 August 1948; they had a daughter Claudine.