Leonard Euler |
1707-1783 |
Euler was born in Basel, Switzerland on April 15, 1707. His father was a minister at a church, and he had hoped that his son would follow in his footsteps. However, Leonard Euler was more interested in mathematics. In addition, he enjoyed speaking several languages such as Swiss, Latin and Greek.
To please his father, Euler enrolled in the theology program at the University of Basel. During his time there, the Swiss mathematician, Johann Bernoulli was very impressed by Euler's mathematical abilities. Bernoulli the convinced Euler's father to allow Euler to terminate his theological training and study mathematics.
In 1727, after graduating, Euler was invited by the Empress of Russia to take up a position at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg as a professor of physics, and later mathematics. In his early 20's, he lost the use of one eye, caused by a previous illness. Later, he would also lose the sight of his other eye but still remained productive in the study of mathematics. In 1741, he moved to Berlin in 1741 and became a mathematics professor at the Berlin Academy of Sciences. At the urging of Catherine the Great, Euler returned to St. Petersburg in 1766. He lived there until his death in 1767 as a result of a stroke.
Euler contributed to mathematics in many fields. These include:
Euler was one of the leading mathematicians of the 18th century. Throughout his lifetime, he published over 500 books and papers, and another 400 were published after his decease.
Sites About Euler |
Description |
| Leonard Euler | Euler pages |
| Leonard Euler | Biography with bibliography |