PLD. Wvisertahioi 08 + Ae Green,The first definitions and theorens of abstract algebra were published by Garrett Birkhofr in 1965 (Birkhotf, 2). This subject has grat ally shom itself to be of value in uniting different parts of mathensties, and especially in making eas) the transfer to the whole of algebra of con whose origin end proved worth had lain in sane particular branch. The plan of this dissertation is to present same rou searches in the algebraic theory of seaigroups against the background of abstract alge! |. The first chapter is therefore dev ed to a Gescription of this latter discipline ae it has deve 1d in the last fifteen years in the hands of Birkhoff and P Hell, uch of this 4s not available in published form, and for this reason a Wote has been added to Chapter I, stating the extent to which this chapter is derived from lectures given in the University of Caubridge, by Mr. Pe Hall. Chapter II datreduces semigroup modules, an idea suggested by the representation modules for rings, They have another significance, for they serve as models for arbitrary algebras with unsry operators. Free seaigrows have often been def'in as in §3; the free modules have not, but similar consid tions for ring nodules were made explicit in course of lectures mentioned in the Noteai) The main feature of Chapter III is tke denonstr: of Theoren 39, ‘This, and sone theorems fron Chapter V, form the basis of a paper accepted by the Annals of uath- enaties. The other resuite in Chapter III are really generalisations of this theorem; the idea of treating “Bas an S-module (§4) again was suggested by llr, Hall's lectures. 1 Chapter IV, § teins well-inow work, the rest of the chapter is concerned with a type of minimal condition not used in other branches of algebra, aithou gh 4 seems that th: ncipal (left or right) ideals could often sei in the theory of rings, instead of ‘the conditions on all (left or right) ideals, For the present treatment of semigroups it is cervainly more natu The suggestion to apply to semigrougs J. von Neumann's condition of "regularity" (thet to any ela ring R there should exist 2 R euch that xzx = x) was Hees, The mage to me by ur jorea 80 on completely simple semigroups, one of the most attract to the theory of semigroups, was proved by this author, in 8 different way (ees, 1). An attenpt to find, for seaigroupe, an analogue of apt a formistion the radical of a ring, has led me of the “radical problen" 1n Chapter VI. the treatment is based on sone results in Cha;