Carl Friedrich Gauss

Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; ; ; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician, astronomer, geodesist, and physicist, who contributed to many fields in mathematics and science, and has been called "the prince of mathematics" and "the greatest mathematician who ever lived". He was director of the Göttingen Observatory and professor of astronomy from 1807 until his death in 1855.

While studying at the University of Göttingen, he propounded several mathematical theorems. As an independent scholar, he wrote the masterpieces ''Disquisitiones Arithmeticae'' and ''Theoria motus corporum coelestium''. Gauss produced the second and third complete proofs of the fundamental theorem of algebra. In number theory, he made numerous contributions, such as the composition law, the law of quadratic reciprocity and the Fermat polygonal number theorem. He also contributed to the theory of binary and ternary quadratic forms, the construction of the heptadecagon, and the theory of hypergeometric series. Due to Gauss' extensive and fundamental contributions to science and mathematics, more than 100 mathematical and scientific concepts are named after him.

Gauss was instrumental in the identification of Ceres as a dwarf planet. His work on the motion of planetoids disturbed by large planets led to the introduction of the Gaussian gravitational constant and the method of least squares, which he had discovered before Adrien-Marie Legendre published it. Gauss led the geodetic survey of the Kingdom of Hanover together with an arc measurement project from 1820 to 1844; he was one of the founders of geophysics and formulated the fundamental principles of magnetism. His practical work led to the invention of the heliotrope in 1821, a magnetometer in 1833 and – with Wilhelm Eduard Weber – the first electromagnetic telegraph in 1833.

Gauss was the first to discover and study non-Euclidean geometry, which he also named. He developed a fast Fourier transform some 160 years before John Tukey and James Cooley.

Gauss refused to publish incomplete work and left several works to be edited posthumously. He believed that the act of learning, not possession of knowledge, provided the greatest enjoyment. Gauss was not a committed or enthusiastic teacher, generally preferring to focus on his own work. Nevertheless, some of his students, such as Dedekind and Riemann, became well-known and influential mathematicians in their own right. Provided by Wikipedia