Known to some as the prince of mathematics, Carl (sometimes written Karl) Gauss, was born in what is now Germany. He was a child mathematics prodigy who helped his father with the family business and astounded his teachers at a very young age. One of his first claims to fame was quickly finding an answer to the sum of numbers 1 to 100 (now known as the arithmetic series). Some of his contributions to math include:
Did you know that Gauss has a Christmas video named after him? See for yourself...
- The Binomial Theorem
- The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra (All polynomial equations with degree 1 or higher and complex coefficients have at least one complex root.)
- The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic (Every integer greater than one is either prime or the product of primes.)
- Heptadecagon - 17sided regular polygon
- contributions to number theory
- differential equations
- differential geometry
- conic sections
- non-Euclidean geometry (although unpublished work)
Did you know that Gauss has a Christmas video named after him? See for yourself...
Sources:
"Gauss, Karl Friedrich (1777-1855) -- from Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography." Gauss, Karl Friedrich (1777-1855) -- from Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography. Wolfram, n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Gauss.html>.
Hart, Vi. "The Gauss Christmath Special." YouTube. YouTube, 3 Jan. 2011. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxnX5_LbBDU>.
"Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss." Gauss Biography. University of St. Andrews Scotland, n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Gauss.html>.
"Gauss, Karl Friedrich (1777-1855) -- from Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography." Gauss, Karl Friedrich (1777-1855) -- from Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography. Wolfram, n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Gauss.html>.
Hart, Vi. "The Gauss Christmath Special." YouTube. YouTube, 3 Jan. 2011. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxnX5_LbBDU>.
"Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss." Gauss Biography. University of St. Andrews Scotland, n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Gauss.html>.