Who is M. Montel? From V.I. Arnold's Experimental Mathematics: > Not having achieved what they desired, they pretended to desire what they had achieved. > > –M. Montel Who is M. Montel? Is he related to the French mathematician Paul Montel. Or is it the same person? Does M. stand for Monseigneur?

The "Montel" cited by Arnold is almost surely Paul Montel, the only one of his name who has gained posterity. It was an usage, say till the fifties, not to use that much given names "Hilbert has proved", not "David Hibert...". You will find many instances in old texts where people are reverently called "M. Hilbert" or "Herr Hilbert" :)