However, it was a series of letters that expounded on his beliefs and knowledge, from religion to science, that became his most popular work. There he wrote more than 350 articles and two influential texts on differential calculus and functions. With turmoil in Russia, Euler left to take up a position at the Berlin Academy. Eventually Euler became head of the Mathematics Department, married the daughter of a Russian painter, and settled into a domestic life. Petersburg attracted many foreign scholars. Petersburg, Russia, where the ample resources and renowned library of the Academy of St. (Euler was not defeated, however, and went on to win the contest twelve additional times during his lifetime.)Īfter an unsuccessful attempt at landing a position at the University of Basel, Euler followed Bernoulli’s sons to St.
The winner of that contest was a man today considered to be the “father of naval architecture,” Pierre Bouguer. Perceiving his innate talent, Johann Bernoulli convinced Leonhard’s father to let his son follow this mathematical destiny, and by 1726 Euler had completed a dissertation at the University of Basel on the “propagation of sound.” He then went on to take second place for solving the Paris Academy Prize Problem on the best place to locate masts on a ship. He was studying theology, Greek, and Hebrew toward that end, and receiving Saturday lessons from Bernoulli. It was assumed that Leonhard would follow in his father’s footsteps and become a pastor himself. Ironically, Euler might never have made a contribution to mathematics at all, if not for the lucky coincidence that his father, Paul, a Lutheran pastor, was friends with Johann Bernoulli, at the time the foremost mathematician in Europe. His wide ranging mind applied mathematics to a variety of practical circumstances, from ship-building and engineering to refining longitude measurements. (Fittingly, in 2002, an asteroid was named in his honor.)Ī prolific writer, his inventive thinking is captured among the many pages of his quarto volumes, of which he wrote at least sixty and perhaps many more. The leading mathematician of his day, Euler’s contributions range from mathematical notation to the orbit of comets.
A pioneer in math and physics, Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) left a legacy unmatched by few others in his field.
0 kommentar(er)
