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Pierre de Fermat and his Last Problem

Pierre de Fermat and his Last Problem

Tabea Tietz
On January 12, 1665, French lawyer and amateur mathematician Pierre de Fermat, famous for his research in number theory, analytical geometry and probability theory, passed away. He is best known for Fermat’s Last Theorem, which he described in a note at the margin of a copy of Diophantus’ Arithmetica.[4] Pierre de Fermat – Early Years Born on August 17, 1601, into a wealthy French family, Pierre de Fermat grew up in Beaumont…
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astronomy
The Celestial Mechanics of Anders Johan Lexell

The Celestial Mechanics of Anders Johan Lexell

Tabea Tietz
On December 24, 1740, Finnish-Swedish astronomer, mathematician, and physicist Anders Johan Lexell was born. Lexell made important discoveries in polygonometry and celestial mechanics; the latter led to a comet named in his honour. La Grande Encyclopédie states that he was the prominent mathematician of his time who contributed to spherical trigonometry with new and interesting solutions, which he took as a basis for his research of comet and planet motion. His name…
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mathematics
Sophus Lie and the Theory of Continuous Symmetry

Sophus Lie and the Theory of Continuous Symmetry

Harald Sack
On December 17, 1842, Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie was born. Lie largely created the theory of continuous symmetry and applied it to the study of geometry and differential equations. He made significant contributions to the theories of algebraic invariants, continuous groups of transformations and differential equations. Lie groups and Lie algebras are named after him. “In our century the conceptions substitution and substitution group, transformation and transformation group, operation and operation group,…
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mathematics
Edmund Gunter and his Measuring Devices

Edmund Gunter and his Measuring Devices

Harald Sack
On December 10, 1626, English clergyman, mathematician, geometer and astronomer Edmund Gunter passed away. Gunther is best remembered for his mathematical contributions which include the invention of the Gunter’s chain, the Gunter’s quadrant, and the Gunter’s scale. In 1620, he invented the first successful analog device which he developed to calculate logarithmic tangents. Edmund Gunter – Early Life Edmund Gunter was born in Hertfordshire in 1581. Edmund attended Westminster School as a…
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mathematics
Paul Bernays and the Unified Theory of Mathematics

Paul Bernays and the Unified Theory of Mathematics

Harald Sack
On October 17, 1888, Swiss mathematician and logician Paul Isaac Bernays was born. Bernays made significant contributions to mathematical logic, axiomatic set theory, and the philosophy of mathematics. He was an assistant and close collaborator of David Hilbert.[6] Bernays is known for his attempts to develop a unified theory of mathematics. “Enlightened humanity has sought in rational definiteness its liberating refuge from the dominating influence of the merely authoritative. At the present time,…
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mathematics
Ivan Matveevich Vinogradov and the Goldbach Conjecture

Ivan Matveevich Vinogradov and the Goldbach Conjecture

Harald Sack
On September 14, 1891, Soviet mathematician Ivan Matveevich Vinogradov was born. Vinogradov is best known for his contributions to the analytical theory of numbers, including a partial solution of the Goldbach conjecture proving that every sufficiently large odd integer can be expressed as the sum of three odd primes. Ivan Matveevich Vinogradov – Youth and Education Ivan Matveevich Vinogradov was born to Matvei Avraam’evich Vinogradov, a priest in Milolyub, a village in…
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mathematics
Carl Størmer and the Mathematical Model of the Formation of Aurorae

Carl Størmer and the Mathematical Model of the Formation of Aurorae

Tabea Tietz
On September 3, 1874, Norwegian mathematician and geophysicist Carl Størmer was born. Carl Størmer is known both for his work in number theory and for studying the movement of charged particles in the magnetosphere and the formation of aurorae. He also contributed both important photographic observations and mathematical data to the understanding of the polar aurora, of stratospheric and mesospheric clouds, and of the structure of the ionosphere. The discovery of the Van Allen…
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engineering
Gaspard de Prony and the Prony Brake

Gaspard de Prony and the Prony Brake

Harald Sack
On July 22, 1755, French mathematician and hydraulic engineer Gaspard Clair François Marie Riche de Prony was born. De Prony is best known for his efforts in the mechanization of calculations as well as for his invention of the eponymous “brake” to measure the performance of machines and engines. Mathematics vs a Legal Career Gaspard de Prony’s family name was Riche, the de Prony title having been bought by his parents. De…
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mathematics
Jordan Carson Mark and the Development of Thermonuclear Weapons

Jordan Carson Mark and the Development of Thermonuclear Weapons

Harald Sack
On July 6, 1913, Canadian mathematician Jordan Carson Mark was born. Mark is best known for his work on developing nuclear weapons for the United States at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He oversaw the development of new weapons, including the hydrogen bomb in the 1950s. On the hydrogen bomb project he was able to bring together experts like Edward Teller, Stanislaw Ulam and Marshall Holloway despite their personal differences. Jordan Carson…
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mathematics
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis and Statistics

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis and Statistics

Tabea Tietz
On June 29, 1893, Indian statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis was born. Mahalanobis is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure and for being one of the members of the first Planning commission of free India. He also made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India. He also devised fractile graphical analysis to study socioeconomic conditions. He applied statistics to issues of crop yields and planning for flood control. “In India, there’s…
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