Enlightenment mathematician Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) was born on this day in Brunswick, Germany, 241 years ago.
Gauss is the subject of Google's latest Doodle, celebrating influential figures and movements from science and the arts.
He is known for his groundbreaking contributions to a huge variety of fields, from number theory, geometry and probability to planetary astronomy and electromagnetism.
A child prodigy, Gauss was raised in the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel (now Lower Saxony) to a working-class family and quickly distinguished himself by correcting his father's calculations of the household bills.
At just eight, he could add up all numbers from one to 100, noticing that by adding numbers from the opposite ends of the sequence he could always achieve a total of 101 (1 + 100 = 101, 2 + 99 = 101, 3 + 98 = 101 etc.), a virtuoso display that stunned his schoolteachers.
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His talent was such that he was commended to the Duke of Brunswick in 1791, who became Carl Friedrich's patron and would pay for him to continue his education and study mathematics at the University of Gottingen between 1795 and 1798.
Gauss impressed with his discovery in 1792 that a regular 17-sided polygon could be drawn with a ruler and compass, a finding made by analysing the factorisation of polynominal equations. He would later request that a stonemason engrave a heptadecagon on his tombstone.
The young man completed a doctoral thesis in 1797 breaking down the fundamental theorem of algebra, boldly critiquing long-accepted principles, before publishing his influential Disquitiones Arithmeticae in 1801, which would set the pace for the study of number theory throughout the 19th century.
Gauss's next feat was the rediscovery of Ceres, a dwarf planet first spotted by Italian astronomer Guiseppe Piazzi in 1800 that had disappeared behind the sun before observers could chart its orbit. Gauss predicated the precise point of the planetoid's reemergence from the glare using comprehensive approximation methods to determine its speed and the arc of its trajectory.
His success saw him made Professor of Astronomy and director of the astronomical observatory in Gottingen, a position he would hold for the remainder of his life.
In 1818, he began a geodetic survey of the Kingdom of Hanover at the region's monarch's request - a task simplified thanks to Gauss's invention of the heliotrope, an instrument for measuring the sun's rays over great distances.
The polymath went on to produce further works on number theory and cartography before occupying himself with the study of the earth's magnetic field in the 1830s.
He died of a heart attack in Gottingen on 23 February 1855.
Known as a somewhat remote and even aloof figure, Gauss was said to have met the news that his wife was dying while he was busy in his study with the words: "Tell her to wait a moment till I'm done". The anecdote was a favourite of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov but is commonly dismissed as apocryphal.
Gauss's extraordinary contribution to "the queen of the sciences" is in no doubt, however.
Victorian mathematician Henry John Stephen Smith summarised his influence accordingly:
"If we except the great name of [Sir Isaac] Newton it is probable that no mathematicians of any age or country have ever surpassed Gauss in the combination of an abundant fertility of invention with an absolute rigorousness in demonstration, which the ancient Greeks themselves might have envied."
In addition to a number of monuments and prizes named in his honour, Gauss has been commemorated with an asteroid, a crater of the moon, an extinct volcano and an Antarctic expedition ship all christened in tribute.
Google • Getty Gauss was a German mathematician born on April 30, 1777 in Brunswick
Gauss was a German mathematician born on April 30, 1777 in Brunswick. He contributed to a number of fields in the subject, including: number theory, algebra, geophysics, mechanics and statistics. The laudable work of Gauss, otherwise spelt Gauß in German, is one of the reasons he earned the nickname “The Prince of Mathematicians”. Gauss’ mother was illiterate, but that did not stop him from cementing himself as a legendary figure in the fields of maths and science.
One of the mathematician’s greatest achievements came in 1786 after discovering a heptadecagon, or a 17-sided polygon, could be made with a compass and straightedge on March 30. After making such a discovery, Gauss requested a regular heptadecagon be inscribed on his tombstone when he died. The stonemason responsible for putting together his stone refused - he claimed such construction would have been too difficult and that the unique qualities of the heptadecagon would not have been represented. It is believed that by the age of eight, Gauss could add every number together from one to 100.
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One of the mathematician's greatest achievements came with the production of his textbook Disquisitiones Arithmeticae. The book is based on number theory and was written in Latin by Gauss in 1798 when he was 21-years-old. Gauss was 24 when the book was published.
Google Google has produced a Doodle to mark the 241st birthday of Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss
The text is widely credited for paving the way for modern number theory as we know it. In 1805 Gauss married Johanna Osthoff and had a son and daughter with her. She died four years after they married and the couple’s most recent child, Louis, died the year after.
Getty Gauss requested a regular heptadecagon be inscribed on his tombstone when he died
Born 241 years ago on April 30, Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss is often described as the "Prince of Mathematicians" and hailed for his contributions to number theory, geometry, probability theory and astronomy.
In the German mathematician's honour, Google is changing its logo in 28 countries to a doodle of him and his achievements.
This is his story:
Prodigy
Gauss was born in 1777 in Brunswick to poor, working-class parents.
His mother, who was illiterate, never recorded her son's birthday. However, she recalled that he had been born on a Wednesday, eight days after the Feast of Ascension, 40 days after Easter.
So, Gauss used that information to determine his birthday, developing his algorithm for calculating the date of Easter during the 1700s or 1800s.
His father was a gardener and regarded as an upright, honest man. However, he was known for being harsh and discouraging his son from attending school.
Gauss's mother was the one who recognised his talents and insisted that he develop them through education.
He was described as a child prodigy, and he often said he could count before he could talk. At the age of seven, he is said to have amused his teachers by adding the integers from one to 100 almost instantly.
While still a young teenager, he became the first person to prove the Law of Quadratic Reciprocity, a maths theory determining whether quadratic equations can be solved.
By the age of 15, his reputation had reached the Duke of Brunswick, and in 1791 he granted him financial assistance to continue his education.
Disquisitiones Artimeticae
Gauss entered the Collegium Corolinum in 1792. There, he studied modern and ancient languages.
For a time, he was undecided on whether to devote his life to mathematics or philology (the study of languages). He chose mathematics, specifically arithmetic, saying famously: "Mathematics is the queen of sciences and arithmetic is the queen of mathematics."
Gauss's first significant discovery was that a regular polygon of 17 sides could be constructed by ruler and compass alone. This was done through analysis of the factorisation of polynomial equations - a revelation that opened the door to other theories.
By the time he was 21, he had written a textbook on number theory, Disquisitiones Artimeticae. The text is widely credited for paving the way for modern number theory as we know it. Among other things, it introduced the symbol for congruence.
His work established him as the era's pre-eminent mathematician.
Gauss summarised his views on the pursuit of knowledge in a letter dated September 2, 1808, as follows:
"It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. When I have clarified and exhausted a subject, then I turn away from it, in order to go into darkness again."
It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment Gauss
Deep depression
Gauss married Johanna Osthoff in 1805 and had two children with her. She died four years later, and the couple's youngest child, Louis, died the year after.
in 1805 and had two children with her. She died four years later, and the couple's youngest child, Louis, died the year after. After his wife's death, Gauss sank into a depression from which he never fully recovered.
In 1810, Gauss married Minna Waldeck, his first wife's best friend, and had three more children with her. She took over the household and cared for him and his family.
Electromechanical telegraph
In 1831, Gauss developed a working relationship with Wilhelm Weber, leading to new knowledge in magnetism and the discovery of Kirchhoff's circuit laws in electricity.
They constructed the first electromechanical telegraph in 1833, and later both founded the "Magnetischer Verein", an observatory which measured the Earth's magnetic field around the world.
The mathematician was made a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science and was also elected a foreign honourary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
During his life, Gauss had excellent health and a strong constitution. He was never seriously ill, but in the last two years, he suffered from insomnia and several other ailments due to his age.
He had a heart attack and died on February 23, 1855, surrounded by relatives and friends.
Gauss's brain was preserved and studied by Rudolf Wagner, who found its mass to be slightly above average. Highly developed convolutions were also found, which in the early 20th century was suggested as an explanation of his genius.
Honours
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The Google Doodle today celebrates the life of lauded mathematician Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss - who made an unusual gravestone wish before his death.
The mathematician had an exceptional influence in many fields of maths and science and would have been 241 years old on April 30 2018.
He is sometimes called 'The Prince of Mathematicians'.
Gauss, whose name is spelt Gauß in his native German, was born in 1777 and he died in 1855.
Although his mother was illiterate Gauss was a child prodigy who, according to legend, worked out how to add up all the numbers from 1 to 100 when he was just eight.
Gauss noticed that if he was to split the numbers into two groups (1 to 50 and 51 to100), he could add them together vertically to get a sum of 101. Gauss realized then that his final total would be 50(101) = 5050.
Gauss' discoveries regarding the construction of polygons pleased him so much he requested a regular heptadecagon (that is,a 17-sided shape) be inscribed on his tombstone.
(Image: L‡szl— NŽmeth/Wikipedia)
(Image: Google)
However the stonemason decline because the construction would be difficult and essentially just look like a circle.
His magnum opus, Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, was completed when he was just 21 in 1798.
Three years later Gauss announced he had calculated the orbit of the asteroid Ceres. which is the largest object in the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter.
(Image: Science Photo Library RF)
(Image: SSPL)
Was Gauss married?
The mathematician married in 1805 and had a son and a daughter with his wife before she died in 1809.
Gauss remarried a year later and had three more children but biographers say the mathematician was never quite the same without his first wife suffering from bouts of depression, so he grew to dominate his children.
He did not want any of his sons to enter mathematics or science for "fear of lowering the family name", as he believed none of them would surpass his own achievements.
His second wife died in 1831.
(Image: Chi And H/Wikipedia)
Gauss' later work
That same year Gauss started to collaborate with physics professor Wilhelm Weber , leading to new knowledge in magnetism and the discovery of Kirchhoff's circuit laws in electricity.
It was at this time he formulated Gauss's Law, relating the distribution of electric charge to the resulting electric field.
Together with Weber they produced the first electromechanical telegraph in 1833 which connected the observatory with the institute for physics in Gottingen.
In 1840 he published the influential Dioptrische Untersuchungen. Gauss didn't write often with his life motto being "few, but ripe".
Five years later he became a member of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands.
He died of a heart attack in 1855 with his brain preserved and studied by Rudolf Wagner.
It was found to have mass slightly above average at 1,492 grams and a larger cerebral area.
In his extraordinary lifetime Gauss contributed to a number of fields including number theory, algebra, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, mechanics, electrostatics, magnetic fields, astronomy, matrix theory and optics.
Famous quotes by Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss
Some of Gauss' quotes have been recorded to this day. Below are some of the things he is most famous for saying.
"Mathematics is the queen of the sciences."
"The enchanting charms of this sublime science reveal only to those who have the courage to go deeply into it."
"It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment."
"Mathematicians stand on each other's shoulders."
"Life stands before me like an eternal spring with new and brilliant clothes."
