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Concept
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Summary
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (Gauß kaʁl ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈɡaʊs; Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 1777 23 February 1855) was a German mathematician, geodesist, and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Gauss ranks among history's most influential mathematicians.
Gauss was a child prodigy in mathematics, attended Collegium Carolinum, and, while studying at the University of Göttingen, made several important mathematical discoveries. At the age of 21, Gauss completed his magnum opus, Disquisitiones Arithmeticae. He was director of the astronomical observatory in Göttingen for nearly half a century, from 1807 until his death in 1855.
Gauss published the second and third complete proofs of the fundamental theorem of algebra, made important contributions to number theory and developed the theories of binary and ternary quadratic forms. He is also credited with inventing the fast Fourier transform algorithm and was instrumental in the discovery of the dwarf planet Ceres. His work on the motion of planetoids disturbed by large planets led to the introduction of the Gaussian gravitational constant and the method of least squares, which is still used in all sciences to minimize measurement error.
Furthermore, Gauss invented the heliotrope in 1821, a magnetometer in 1833, and alongside Wilhelm Eduard Weber, invented the first electromagnetic telegraph in 1833.
Gauss was a careful author and refused to publish incomplete work, and though having published extensively, he left a lot of posthumous works of important content. Gauss was known to dislike teaching, but some of his students became influential mathematicians. He believed that the act of learning, not possession of knowledge, granted the greatest enjoyment.
Gauss married twice and had six children, and died of a heart attack in 1855 in Göttingen.
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss was born on 30 April 1777 in Brunswick (Braunschweig), in the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (now part of Lower Saxony, Germany), to a family of lower social status.
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Related concepts (149)
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics with the major subdisciplines of number theory, algebra, geometry, and analysis, respectively. There is no general consensus among mathematicians about a common definition for their academic discipline. Most mathematical activity involves the discovery of properties of abstract objects and the use of pure reason to prove them.
Number theory
Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Mathematics is the queen of the sciences—and number theory is the queen of mathematics." Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example, rational numbers), or defined as generalizations of the integers (for example, algebraic integers).
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (Gauß kaʁl ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈɡaʊs; Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 1777 23 February 1855) was a German mathematician, geodesist, and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Gauss ranks among history's most influential mathematicians. Gauss was a child prodigy in mathematics, attended Collegium Carolinum, and, while studying at the University of Göttingen, made several important mathematical discoveries.