Carl Frederich Gauss |
1777-1855 |
Carl Frederich was born in Brunswick Germany on April 30, 1777. He was brought up in a very poor and uneducated family. When he was 14 years old, he received a scholarship from the duke of Brunswick which allowed him to study for the next 16 years of his life.
Before he was 25, Gauss was already famous for his work in astronomy and mathematics. When Gauss was 30 years old, he went to the Göttingen observatory to take up the position of director. He worked there for the next 47 years until his death.
Gauss suffered from financial security and political turmoil as a result of the French Revolution and the democratic revolutions occurring in Germany. He had no other mathematical colleagues and therefore, he worked alone for most of his life. He was considered an unsympathetic father and had terrible relationships with his sons. His first wife died early on in their marriage and his second wife was very poor in health. Even in his troublesome situation, Gauss continued in his mathematical and scientific studies.
Gauss contributed to mathematics in many fields. These include:
Gauss proved himself to be one of the greatest scientific geniuses of all time through his many publications, correspondence, notes, and manuscripts. He died in Göttingen, Germany on February 23, 1855.
Sites About Gauss |
Description |
| C.F. Gauss | His picture on German currency |
| Gauss' Biography | From St. Andrew's |