MATH 5400, History of Mathematics - Lecture 8: Euler, Topology and
Transcription
MATH 5400, History of Mathematics - Lecture 8: Euler, Topology and
MATH 5400, History of Mathematics Lecture 8: Euler, Topology and Analysis Professor: Peter Gibson [email protected] http://people.math.yorku.ca/pcgibson/math5400 November 17, 2016 Background Peter the Great (ruled 1682-1725) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 2 / 19 Catherine the Great (ruled 1762-1796) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 3 / 19 The contemporary Prussian monarch was Frederick the Great (1740-1786) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 4 / 19 Which brings us to Euler (1707-1783) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 5 / 19 Biographical details Born near Basel, Switzerland; father was a clergyman tutored as a boy by Johann Bernoulli entered the University of Basel at age 14 obtained a Master’s degree in philosophy; entered divinity school; switched to mathematics 1727 won an international competition for analysis of the placement of masts on sailing ships 1727 moved to St. Petersburg, to join Daniel Bernoulli at the St. Petersburg Academy his original post was for physiology and medicine 1733 obtained the chair in mathematics had diverse duties as an employee of the state (preparing maps, advising the navy, testing fire engines...) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 6 / 19 1735 solved the Basel problem, first posed in 1644 1738 lost sight in his right eye 1739 Mechanica 1741 moved to the new Berlin Academy, under the patronage of Frederick the Great 1742 letter from Goldbach with his famous conjecture 1744 Methodus inveniendi lineas curvas maximi minimive proprietate gaudentes, sive solutio problematis isoperimetrici latissimo sensu accepti 1748 Introductio in analysin infinitorum 1760-1762 Letters to a German Princess 1766 return to Russia 1771 lost sight in his left eye 1783 worked on hot air balloons, the moons of Uranus Euler was hugely prolific, dominating the Journal of the St. Peter’s Academy, writing many, many books. P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 7 / 19 Some contemporaries Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) George Washington (1732-1799) Robespierre (1758-1794) Captain Cook (1728-1779) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 8 / 19 Political Turmoil in France The Age of Enlightenment was a precursor to radical political developments in France (and elsewhere) toward the end of the 18th century. P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 9 / 19 Political Turmoil in France The Age of Enlightenment was a precursor to radical political developments in France (and elsewhere) toward the end of the 18th century. P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 9 / 19 The French Revolution changed completely the political landscape the Tennis Court Oath, followed by the storming of the Bastille (1789) the execution of Louis XVI (1793) the Reign of Terror (1793-1794) military adventures outside of France coup d’état by Napolean Bonaparte (1799) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 10 / 19 The Reign of Terror saw tens of thousands of summary executions P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 11 / 19 Napoléon, who was in power from 1799-1815 conquered much of Europe P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 12 / 19 Despite the political turmoil, French mathematics flourished. P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 13 / 19 Joseph Louis Lagrange (1736-1813) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 14 / 19 Born in Turin 1755, professor of Mathematics at the Scool of Artillery in Turin 1766, summoned to Berlin by Frederick the Great “it is necessary that the greatest geometer of Europe should live near the greatest of kings” 1786, death of Frederick; Lagrange moves to Paris 1795, professor at the Ecole normale 1797, professor at the Ecole polytechnique P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 15 / 19 Important works of Lagrange Sur la résolution des équations numériques (1767) Méchanique analytique (1788) Théorie des fonctions analytiques (1797) Leçons sur le calcul des fonctions (1801) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 16 / 19 There were many other prominent French mathematicians besides Lagrange: Jean le Rond d’Alembert (1717-1783) Adrien-Marie Legendre (1752-1833) Joseph Fourier (1768-1830) Siméon-Denis Poisson (1781-1840) Augustin Cauchy (1789-1857) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 17 / 19 Pierre-Simon Laplace (1747-1827) was a professor at the Ecole militaire in Paris. P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 18 / 19 He wrote some important mathematical works of the time: Méchanique céleste (5 volumes) (1799-1825) Théorie analytique des probabilités (1812) P. Gibson (YorkU) Math 5400 19 / 19