Euler

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Living Math!

Leonhard Euler, Power Mathematician

1707 - 1783 AD Switzerland, Germany & Russia

Euler

Biographical Info

MacTutor Bio on Euler

Famous Quotes

"To those who ask what the infinitely small quantity in mathematics is, we answer that it is actually zero. Hence there are not so many mysteries hidden in this concept as they are usually believed to be. These supposed mysteries have rendered the calculus of the infinitely small quite suspect to many people. Those doubts that remain we shall thoroughly remove in the following pages. "

"Madam, I have come from a country where people are hanged if they talk."
[In Berlin, excusing his taciturnity in conversation with the Queen Mother of Prussia, on his return from Russia]

Concepts and Activities

A Proof that e is Irrational http://mathforum.org/isaac/problems/eproof.html

Euler's Seven Bridges of Konigsberg http://mathforum.org/isaac/problems/bridges1.html
Euler's Formula http://www.math.wichita.edu/history/topics/geometry.html#euler
Proofs of Euler's Formula http://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/junkyard/euler/
Platonic Solids and Euler http://www.georgehart.com/virtual-polyhedra/platonic-info.html

Significant Contributions

1727 AD Euler St Petersburg; introduces the symbol e for the base of natural logarithms - not published until 1862.

1735 AD Euler introduces the notation f(x).

1748 Euler publishes Analysis Infinitorum (Analysis of the Infinite) . . defines a function, mathematical analysis is the study of functions. Bases calculus on the theory of elementary functions rather than on geometric curves, as previously. The famous formula ei = -1 appears for the first time.

1751 Euler publishes his theory of logarithms of complex numbers.

1752 Euler states his theorem V - E + F = 2 for polyhedra.

1765 Euler publishes Theory of the Motions of Rigid Bodies - the foundation of analytical mechanics.

1770 Euler publishes his textbook Algebra.

1777 Euler introduces the symbol i to represent the square root of -1 in a manuscript which is not printed until 1794.

http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Chronology/1720_1740.html#1727

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