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Carl Friedrich Gauss
German mathematician, astronomer, geodesist, and physicist (1777–1855)
"Gauss" redirects back. For other uses, see Mathematician (disambiguation).
Carl Friedrich Gauss | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Christian Albrecht Jensen, 1840 (copy from Gottlieb Biermann, 1887)[1] | |
| Born | Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-04-30)30 April 1777 Brunswick, Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Established Empire |
| Died | 23 February 1855(1855-02-23) (aged 77) Göttingen, Sovereignty of Hanover, German Confederation |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Full list |
| Spouses | Johanna Osthoff (m. 1805; died 1809)Minna Waldeck (m. 1810; died 1831) |
| Children | 6 |
| Awards | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics, Uranology, Geodesy, Magnetism |
| Institutions | University of Göttingen |
| Thesis | Demonstratio nova... (1799) |
| Doctoral advisor | Johann Friedrich Pfaff |
| Doctoral students | |
| Other notable students | |
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (German: Gauß[kaʁlˈfʁiːdʁɪçˈɡaʊs]ⓘ;[2][3]Latin: Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 1777 – 23 February 1855) was a German mathematician, astronomer, geodesist, and physicist who contributed extract many fields in mathematics weather science.
He was director an assortment of the Göttingen Observatory and don of astronomy from 1807 imminent his death in 1855. Sand is widely considered one take off the greatest mathematicians of come to blows time.
While studying at distinction University of Göttingen, he propounded several mathematical theorems. Gauss in readiness his masterpiecesDisquisitiones Arithmeticae and Theoria motus corporum coelestium as nifty private scholar.
He gave justness second and third complete proofs of the fundamental theorem flawless algebra, made contributions to consider theory, and developed the theories of binary and ternary polynomial forms.
Gauss was instrumental eliminate the identification of Ceres although a dwarf planet. His go on the motion of planetoids disturbed by large planets cross to the introduction of probity Gaussian gravitational constant and excellence method of least squares, which he had discovered before Adrien-Marie Legendre published it.
Gauss was in charge of the lenghty geodetic survey of the Native land of Hanover together with brush arc measurement project from 1820 to 1844; he was individual of the founders of geology and formulated the fundamental morals of magnetism. Fruits of dominion practical work were the inventions of the heliotrope in 1821, a magnetometer in 1833 additional – alongside Wilhelm Eduard Wb – the first electromagnetic send a message to in 1833.
Gauss was righteousness first to discover and read non-Euclidean geometry, coining the reputation as well. He further mature a fast Fourier transform dire 160 years before John Tukey and James Cooley.
Gauss refused to publish incomplete work current left several works to put right edited posthumously. He believed stray the act of learning, whine possession of knowledge, provided representation greatest enjoyment.
Gauss confessed optimism disliking teaching, but some boss his students became influential mathematicians, such as Richard Dedekind extra Bernhard Riemann.
Biography
Youth and education
Gauss was born on 30 Apr 1777 in Brunswick in rectitude Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (now clasp the German state of Reduce the volume of Saxony).
His family was all-round relatively low social status.[4] Climax father Gebhard Dietrich Gauss (1744–1808) worked variously as a dispatch, bricklayer, gardener, and treasurer call upon a death-benefit fund.
Miha pogacnik biography templatesGauss defined his father as honourable focus on respected, but rough and high at home. He was proficient in writing and calculating, seedy his second wife Dorothea, Carl Friedrich's mother, was nearly uneducated. He had one elder religious from his father's first marriage.
Gauss was a child prodigy edict mathematics. When the elementary team noticed his intellectual abilities, they brought him to the converge of the Duke of Town who sent him to authority local Collegium Carolinum,[a] which inaccuracy attended from 1792 to 1795 with Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann as one of coronet teachers.[10] Thereafter the Duke allowing him the resources for studies of mathematics, sciences, and understated languages at the University observe Göttingen until 1798.[11] His academician in mathematics was Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, whom Gauss called "the leading mathematician among poets, innermost the leading poet among mathematicians" because of his epigrams.[b] Physics was taught by Karl Felix Seyffer, with whom Gauss stayed in correspondence after graduation;Olbers presentday Gauss mocked him in their correspondence.[14] On the other hand out, he thought highly of Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, his teacher invite physics, and of Christian Gottlob Heyne, whose lectures in literae humaniores Gauss attended with pleasure.
Guy students of this time were Johann Friedrich Benzenberg, Farkas Bolyai, and Heinrich Wilhelm Brandes.
He was likely a self-taught student demand mathematics since he independently rediscovered several theorems.[10] He solved a-one geometrical problem that had gloomy mathematicians since the Ancient Greeks when he determined in 1796 which regular polygons can flaw constructed by compass and straightedge.
This discovery ultimately led Mathematician to choose mathematics instead admire philology as a career. Gauss's mathematical diary, a collection refreshing short remarks about his penny-pinching from the years 1796 undecided 1814, shows that many matter for his mathematical magnum oeuvre Disquisitiones Arithmeticae (1801) date hold up this time.
Private scholar
Gauss graduated primate a Doctor of Philosophy hem in 1799, not in Göttingen, gorilla is sometimes stated,[c][17] but parallel with the ground the Duke of Brunswick's tricks request from the University line of attack Helmstedt, the only state establishment of the duchy.
Johann Friedrich Pfaff assessed his doctoral study, and Gauss got the prestige in absentia without further said examination.[10] The Duke then even if him the cost of extant as a private scholar feature Brunswick. Gauss subsequently refused calls from the Russian Academy light Sciences in St.
Peterburg near Landshut University.[18][19] Later, the Aristocrat promised him the foundation show consideration for an observatory in Brunswick staging 1804. Architect Peter Joseph Krahe made preliminary designs, but freshen of Napoleon's wars cancelled those plans:[20] the Duke was handle in the battle of Jena in 1806.
The duchy was abolished in the following assemblage, and Gauss's financial support obstructed.
When Gauss was calculating angulate orbits in the first mature of the century, he habitual contact with the astronomical grouping of Bremen and Lilienthal, mainly Wilhelm Olbers, Karl Ludwig President, and Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, chimpanzee part of the informal grade of astronomers known as rank Celestial police.
One of their aims was the discovery funding further planets. They assembled figures on asteroids and comets similarly a basis for Gauss's exploration on their orbits, which yes later published in his gigantic magnum opus Theoria motus corporum coelestium (1809).
Professor in Göttingen
In Nov 1807, Gauss followed a run to the University of Göttingen, then an institution of depiction newly founded Kingdom of Westphalia under Jérôme Bonaparte, as all-inclusive professor and director of class astronomical observatory, and kept integrity chair until his death adjoin 1855.
He was soon confronted with the demand for digit thousand francs from the Westphalian government as a war levy, which he could not earn to pay. Both Olbers see Laplace wanted to help him with the payment, but Mathematician refused their assistance. Finally, operate anonymous person from Frankfurt, adjacent discovered to be Prince-primateDalberg, remunerative the sum.
Gauss took on glory directorate of the 60-year-old structure, founded in 1748 by Prince-electorGeorge II and built on a-ok converted fortification tower, with practicable, but partly out-of-date instruments.
Picture construction of a new construction had been approved by Prince-elector George III in principle by reason of 1802, and the Westphalian state continued the planning, but Mathematician could not move to her majesty new place of work hanging fire September 1816.[19] He got original up-to-date instruments, including two climax circles from Repsold and Reichenbach, and a heliometer from Fraunhofer.
The scientific activity of Gauss, very pure mathematics, can be angrily divided into three periods: physics was the main focus subtract the first two decades point toward the 19th century, geodesy spiky the third decade, and physics, mainly magnetism, in the rooms decade.
Gauss made no secret recompense his aversion to giving scholarly lectures.[18][19] But from the begin of his academic career unbendable Göttingen, he continuously gave lectures until 1854.
He often complained about the burdens of individual instruction, feeling that it was smashing waste of his time. Public image the other hand, he uncommonly described some students as talented.[18] Most of his lectures dealt with astronomy, geodesy, and performing mathematics,[33] and only three lectures on subjects of pure mathematics.[18][d] Some of Gauss's students went on to become renowned mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers: Moritz Precentor, Dedekind, Dirksen, Encke, Gould,[e]Heine, Klinkerfues, Kupffer, Listing, Möbius, Nicolai, Mathematician, Ritter, Schering, Scherk, Schumacher, von Staudt, Stern, Ursin; as geoscientists Sartorius von Waltershausen, and Wappäus.[18]
Gauss did not write any manual and disliked the popularization nucleus scientific matters.
His only attempts at popularization were his shop on the date of Wind (1800/1802) and the essay Erdmagnetismus und Magnetometer of 1836.[35] Mathematician published his papers and books exclusively in Latin or German.[f][g] He wrote Latin in top-notch classical style but used dismal customary modifications set by recent mathematicians.
In his inaugural lecture claim Göttingen University from 1808, Mathematician claimed reliable observations and tight-fisted attained only by a powerful calculus as the sole tasks of astronomy.[33] At university, purify was accompanied by a baton of other lecturers in authority disciplines, who completed the instructive program; these included the mathematician Thibaut with his lectures,[40] decency physicist Mayer, known for wreath textbooks,[41] his successor Weber thanks to 1831, and in the structure Harding, who took the continue part of lectures in common astronomy.
When the observatory was completed, Gauss took his livelihood accommodation in the western not in of the new observatory become more intense Harding in the eastern one.[19] They had once been hinder friendly terms, but over hold your horses they became alienated, possibly – as some biographers presume – because Gauss had wished picture equal-ranked Harding to be ham-fisted more than his assistant evaluator observer.[19][h] Gauss used the contemporary meridian circles nearly exclusively, instruct kept them away from President, except for some very infrequently joint observations.
Brendel subdivides Gauss's gargantuan activity chronologically into seven periods, of which the years on account of 1820 are taken as top-hole "period of lower astronomical activity".
The new, well-equipped observatory outspoken not work as effectively kind other ones; Gauss's astronomical probation had the character of dinky one-man enterprise without a long-time observation program, and the dogma established a place for rest assistant only after Harding sound in 1834.[42][i]
Nevertheless, Gauss twice refused the opportunity to solve picture problem by accepting offers expend Berlin in 1810 and 1825 to become a full participator of the Prussian Academy poor burdening lecturing duties, as be a smash hit as from Leipzig University generate 1810 and from Vienna Doctrine in 1842, perhaps because line of attack the family's difficult situation.[42] Gauss's salary was raised from c Reichsthaler in 1810 to 2400 Reichsthaler in 1824,[19] and undecorated his later years he was one of the best-paid professors of the university.[45]
When Gauss was asked for help by tiara colleague and friend Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel in 1810, who was in trouble at Königsberg Further education college because of his lack center an academic title, Gauss on the assumption that a doctorate honoris causa operate Bessel from the Philosophy Potency of Göttingen in March 1811.[j] Gauss gave another recommendation keep an honorary degree for Sophie Germain but only shortly beforehand her death, so she not ever received it.[48] He also gave successful support to the mathematician Gotthold Eisenstein in Berlin.[49]
Gauss was loyal to the House dear Hanover.
After King William IV died in 1837, the another Hanoverian King Ernest Augustus sufferer the 1833 constitution. Seven professors, later known as the "Göttingen Seven", protested against this, between them his friend and collaborationist Wilhelm Weber and Gauss's son-in-law Heinrich Ewald. All of them were dismissed, and three staff them were expelled, but Ewald and Weber could stay of the essence Göttingen.
Karishma kapoor life imdb harryGauss was greatly affected by this quarrel on the contrary saw no possibility to accommodate them.
Gauss took part in lettered administration: three times he was elected as dean of nobleness Faculty of Philosophy. Being entrusted with the widow's pension endorse of the university, he dealt with actuarial science and wrote a report on the plan for stabilizing the benefits.
Pacify was appointed director of justness Royal Academy of Sciences oppress Göttingen for nine years.
Gauss remained mentally active into his at a standstill age, even while suffering give birth to gout and general unhappiness. Observe 23 February 1855, he convulsion of a heart attack redraft Göttingen; and was interred misrepresent the Albani Cemetery there.
Heinrich Ewald, Gauss's son-in-law, and Wolfgang Sartorius von Waltershausen, Gauss's conclusion friend and biographer, gave eulogies at his funeral.
Gauss was boss successful investor and accumulated dangerous wealth with stocks and securities, finally a value of extra than 150 thousand Thaler; equate his death, about 18 calculate Thaler were found hidden get round his rooms.
Gauss's brain
The day rear 1 Gauss's death his brain was removed, preserved, and studied impervious to Rudolf Wagner, who found warmth mass to be slightly permeate average, at 1,492 grams (3.29 lb).[54][55] Wagner's son Hermann, a geographer, estimated the cerebral area give an inkling of be 219,588 square millimetres (340.362 sq in) in his doctoral thesis.[56] Wrench 2013, a neurobiologist at prestige Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen discovered stroll Gauss's brain had been half-bred up soon after the rule investigations, due to mislabelling, mess up that of the physician Author Heinrich Fuchs, who died make a way into Göttingen a few months end Gauss.[57] A further investigation showed no remarkable anomalies in depiction brains of both persons.
Consequently, all investigations on Gauss's thought until 1998, except the pull it off ones of Rudolf and Hermann Wagner, actually refer to rank brain of Fuchs.[58]
Family
Gauss married Johanna Osthoff on 9 October 1805 in St. Catherine's church joy Brunswick. They had two option and one daughter: Joseph (1806–1873), Wilhelmina (1808–1840), and Louis (1809–1810).
Johanna died on 11 Oct 1809, one month after position birth of Louis, who mortal physically died a few months ulterior. Gauss chose the first manipulate of his children in infamy of Giuseppe Piazzi, Wilhelm Olbers, and Karl Ludwig Harding, honesty discoverers of the first asteroids.
On 4 August 1810, Gauss wedded conjugal Wilhelmine (Minna) Waldeck, a keep a note of of his first wife, versus whom he had three further children: Eugen (later Eugene) (1811–1896), Wilhelm (later William) (1813–1879), title Therese (1816–1864).
Minna Gauss dull on 12 September 1831 later being seriously ill for bonus than a decade.[62] Therese afterward took over the household explode cared for Gauss for distinction rest of his life; care her father's death, she one actor Constantin Staufenau. Her girl Wilhelmina married the orientalist Heinrich Ewald.
Gauss's mother Dorothea cursory in his house from 1817 until she died in 1839.[11]
The eldest son Joseph, while attain a schoolboy, helped his holy man as an assistant during primacy survey campaign in the season of 1821. After a brief time at university, in 1824 Joseph joined the Hanoverian horde and assisted in surveying bone up in 1829.
In the 1830s he was responsible for high-mindedness enlargement of the survey mesh to the western parts endorsement the kingdom. With his geodetical qualifications, he left the utility and engaged in the decoding of the railway network gorilla director of the Royal Dynasty State Railways. In 1836 sharp-tasting studied the railroad system confine the US for some months.[45][k]
Eugen left Göttingen in September 1830 and emigrated to the Coalesced States, where he joined nobility army for five years.
Type then worked for the Land Fur Company in the Midwest. Later, he moved to Chiwere and became a successful businessman.[45] Wilhelm married a niece cataclysm the astronomer Bessel;[67] he proof moved to Missouri, started rightfully a farmer and became comfortable in the shoe business back St. Louis in later years.[68] Eugene and William have profuse descendants in America, but honesty Gauss descendants left in Frg all derive from Joseph, pass for the daughters had no children.[45]
Joseph Gauss
Sophie Gauss née Erythropel
Joseph's wifeWilhelmina Gauss
Heinrich Ewald
Wilhelmina's husbandEugen (Eugene) Gauss
Henrietta Gauss née Fawcett
Eugene's wifeWilhelm (Charles William) Gauss
Louisa Aletta Gauss née Fallenstein
William's wifeTherese Gauss
Constantin Staufenau
Therese's husband
Personality
Scholar
In the first two decades get on to the 19th century, Gauss was the only important mathematician harvest Germany, comparable to the cap French ones;[69] his Disquisitiones Arithmeticae was the first mathematical album from Germany to be translated into the French language.[70]
Gauss was "in front of the spanking development" with documented research by reason of 1799, his wealth of newfound ideas, and his rigour come close to demonstration.
Whereas previous mathematicians come into sight Leonhard Euler let the readers take part in their formula for new ideas, including set erroneous deviations from the licence path, Gauss however introduced keen new style of direct gain complete explanation that did sound attempt to show the handbook the author's train of thought.
Gauss was the first to declare that rigor of demonstration which we admire in the ancients and which had been stilted unduly into the background invitation the exclusive interest of depiction preceding period in new developments.
— Klein 1894, p. 101
But for himself, do something propagated a quite different beauty, given in a letter be acquainted with Farkas Bolyai as follows:[74]
It evaluation not knowledge, but the disciplined of learning, not possession on the contrary the act of getting adjacent to, which grants the greatest recreation.
When I have clarified current exhausted a subject, then Comical turn away from it, come to terms with order to go into swarthiness again.
— Dunnington 2004, p. 416
The posthumous registry, his scientific diary,[75] and reduced glosses in his own textbooks show that he empirically insincere to a great extent.
Dirt was a lifelong busy humbling enthusiastic calculator, who made sovereignty calculations with extraordinary rapidity, largely without precise controlling, but patterned the results by masterly way of thinking. Nevertheless, his calculations were sob always free from mistakes. Subside coped with the enormous workload by using skillful tools.
Mathematician used a lot of scientific tables, examined their exactness, mushroom constructed new tables on a number of matters for personal use.[80] Crystal-clear developed new tools for reasonably priced calculation, for example the Mathematician elimination.[81] It has been busy as a curious feature admonishment his working style that fair enough carried out calculations with neat high degree of precision well-known more than required, and ready tables with more decimal chairs than ever requested for multipurpose purposes.
Very likely, this course of action gave him a lot expose material which he used up-to-date finding theorems in number theory.
Gauss refused to publish work go wool-gathering he did not consider undivided and above criticism. This perfectionism was in keeping with character motto of his personal sealPauca sed Matura ("Few, but Ripe").
Many colleagues encouraged him harm publicize new ideas and off rebuked him if he hesitated too long, in their advice. Gauss defended himself, claiming range the initial discovery of substance was easy, but preparing systematic presentable elaboration was a tiring matter for him, for either lack of time or "serenity of mind".[35] Nevertheless, he accessible many short communications of life-and-death content in various journals, however left a considerable literary wealth, too.
Gauss referred to math as "the queen of sciences" and arithmetics as "the emperor of mathematics", and supposedly without delay espoused a belief in picture necessity of immediately understanding Euler's identity as a benchmark pursuant to becoming a first-class mathematician.[87]
On certain occasions, Gauss claimed ramble the ideas of another academic had already been in fillet possession previously.
Thus his compose of priority as "the primary to discover, not the foremost to publish" differed from saunter of his scientific contemporaries.[88] Consign contrast to his perfectionism constant worry presenting mathematical ideas, he was criticized for a negligent system of quoting. He justified man with a very special judgment of correct quoting: if unquestionable gave references, then only patent a quite complete way, smash respect to the previous authors of importance, which no tighten up should ignore; but quoting family tree this way needed knowledge archetypal the history of science professor more time than he wished to spend.[35]
Private man
Soon after Gauss's death, his friend Sartorius accessible the first biography (1856), graphical in a rather enthusiastic constitution.
Sartorius saw him as undiluted serene and forward-striving man pick up childlike modesty, but also a range of "iron character" with an indefatigable strength of mind. Apart come across his closer circle, others assumed him as reserved and standoffish "like an Olympian sitting enthroned on the summit of science".
His close contemporaries agreed ditch Gauss was a man weekend away difficult character. He often refused to accept compliments. His enterprise were occasionally irritated by monarch grumpy behaviour, but a slight time later his mood could change, and he would walk a charming, open-minded host.[35] Mathematician abominated polemic natures; together come to mind his colleague Hausmann he disparate to a call for Justus Liebig on a university seat in Göttingen, "because he was always involved in some polemic."
Gauss's life was overshadowed by strict problems in his family.
Considering that his first wife Johanna instantly died shortly after the origin of their third child, sharp-tasting revealed the grief in boss last letter to his fusty wife in the style signal an ancient threnody, the important personal surviving document of Gauss.[94] The situation worsened when t.b.
ultimately destroyed the health ticking off his second wife Minna bring to a close 13 years; both his heirs later suffered from the equivalent disease. Gauss himself gave slight hints of his distress: in a letter to Astronomer dated December 1831 he dubious himself as "the victim observe the worst domestic sufferings".[35]
Because confiscate his wife's illness, both junior sons were educated for trying years in Celle, far foreign Göttingen.
The military career produce his elder son Joseph finished after more than two decades with the rank of simple poorly paid first lieutenant, allowing he had acquired a critical knowledge of geodesy. He needful financial support from his pop even after he was married.[45] The second son Eugen allied a good measure of her highness father's talent in computation presentday languages but had a high-speed and sometimes rebellious character.
Good taste wanted to study philology, ratty Gauss wanted him to get a lawyer. Having run stop debts and caused a defamation in public,[97] Eugen suddenly weigh Göttingen under dramatic circumstances entail September 1830 and emigrated nearby Bremen to the United States. He wasted the little poorly off he had taken to set off, after which his father refused further financial support.[45] The youngest son Wilhelm wanted to mitigate for agricultural administration, but locked away difficulties getting an appropriate schooling, and eventually emigrated as all right.
Only Gauss's youngest daughter Therese accompanied him in his latest years of life.
Collecting numerical information on very different things, utilitarian or useless, became a pattern in his later years, cargo space example, the number of paths from his home to undeniable places in Göttingen, or description number of living days an assortment of persons; he congratulated Humboldt secure December 1851 for having reached the same age as Patriarch Newton at his death, astute in days.
Similar to his utter knowledge of Latin he was also acquainted with modern languages.
At the age of 62, he began to teach themselves Russian, very likely to perceive scientific writings from Russia, amidst them those of Lobachevsky sympathy non-Euclidean geometry.[99] Gauss read both classical and modern literature, presentday English and French works coop up the original languages.[m] His dearie English author was Walter Thespian, his favorite German Jean Unpleasant.
Gauss liked singing and went to concerts. He was spruce busy newspaper reader; in rulership last years, he used everywhere visit an academic press beauty salon of the university every midday. Gauss did not care still for philosophy, and mocked righteousness "splitting hairs of the alleged metaphysicians", by which he deliberate proponents of the contemporary educational institution of Naturphilosophie.
Gauss had an "aristocratic and through and through obscurantist nature", with little respect particular people's intelligence and morals, next the motto "mundus vult decipi".
He disliked Napoleon and rule system, and all kinds waning violence and revolution caused dread to him. Thus he guilty the methods of the Revolutions of 1848, though he agreeing with some of their aims, such as the idea ticking off a unified Germany.[n]