Mathematical Marvel
A look at the life of Leonhard Euler, one of the greatest mathematicians of all time.
The picture is taken from a painting of Leonhard Euler (his surname is pronounced ‘Oiler’). He is widely considered to be one of the best mathematicians who ever lived.
Euler was born in Switzerland in 1707 and spent most of his working life in Russia and Germany which was then called Prussia.
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“Euler calculated without apparent effort, as men breathe, or as eagles sustain themselves in the wind”
Leonhard Euler began his mathematical career in 1727, the year that Isaac Newton died. Incredibly, by the age of nineteen, he had seen some of his mathematical work published.
Portrait of Leonhard Euler by Jacob Handmann (1753).
Euler solved the Latin Squares puzzle. The puzzle asks you to arrange the counters in a 7x7 square so that no row or column contains the same number or the same colour twice.
Can you solve it?
In Euler’s time, universities were not always great centres for the study of science and mathematics as they are today.
Instead, royal academies sponsored mathematicians to carry out their research and it was at two of these royal academies (in Berlin & St. Petersburg) that Euler spent most of his professional career.
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As a young man, Euler knew that mathematics was his passion, but his father wanted him to pursue a religious career.
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His father only relented when one of the Bernoulli brothers (a family of famous mathematicians) told him that his son had the potential to become an incredible mathematician.
Leonhard Euler went on to produce such a great quantity of original mathematics that more than 500 books and papers full of his work were published during his career.
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A further 228 mathematical papers were published after his death. In fact, Euler had more mathematics published after his death than most mathematicians manage in their lifetime!
Euler’s ideas and thoughts were bold and beautiful. They are still admired today. He discovered the formula that is often voted the most beautiful in all of mathematics.
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Euler also contributed to Physics and Engineering and he won prizes in Astronomy.
Often voted the most beautiful formula in all of mathematics
Euler made important advances in the study of optics (the study of light and its properties). He even contributed to the theory of music and was an expert cartographer.
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One of his greatest ideas was to use calculus to revolutionise the study of mechanics. His work allowed mathematicians and scientists to understand how systems changed over time.
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Euler’s equations of fluid motion allow scientists to study the movement and flow of liquids and gases. They are still used today.
The first page of one of Euler's published papers. Mathematics and science papers were often written in Latin in Euler's time.
If you study mathematics, you will undoubtedly come across some of Euler’s beautiful formulae and equations. Incredibly, much of what you will meet will look just as Euler left it.
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Aside from being a phenomenal mathematician, Euler had incredible resilience. Throughout his life, his eyesight deteriorated until at the age of 59 he was almost completely blind.
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Nevertheless, he continued to create original mathematics using his prodigious memory and his ability to perform complex calculations mentally.
Resilience and determination are very important in the study of mathematics, and Euler did not lose his love of the subject despite being unable to read or write without assistance
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Euler died in 1783 aged 76.
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After his death, the St Petersburg Academy found enough new material amongst Euler’s notes to continue publishing his work for almost 50 more years.
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The beauty of Leonhard Euler’s ideas will never fade.