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Highlights
- An acclaimed biography of the Enlightenment's greatest mathematician This is the first full-scale biography of Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), one of the greatest mathematicians and theoretical physicists of all time.
- About the Author: Ronald S. Calinger is professor emeritus of history at the Catholic University of America and the founding chancellor of the Euler Society.
- 696 Pages
- Biography + Autobiography, Science + Technology
Description
Book Synopsis
An acclaimed biography of the Enlightenment's greatest mathematician
This is the first full-scale biography of Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), one of the greatest mathematicians and theoretical physicists of all time. In this comprehensive and authoritative account, Ronald Calinger connects the story of Euler's eventful life to the astonishing achievements that place him in the company of Archimedes, Newton, and Gauss. Drawing on Euler's massive published works and correspondence, this biography sets Euler's work in its multilayered context--personal, intellectual, institutional, political, cultural, religious, and social. It is a story of nearly incessant accomplishment, from Euler's fundamental contributions to almost every area of pure and applied mathematics in his time--especially calculus, mechanics, and optics--to his advances in shipbuilding, telescopes, acoustics, ballistics, cartography, chronology, and music theory.From the Back Cover
"This is the first real biography of Leonhard Euler, and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it is the most important book about Euler to appear in any western European language in the past century. The scholarship is absolutely first rate and is based largely on original sources, a monumental feat. Many of the details are new, but so is the grand synthesis that puts them together in one narrative. I learned something new from almost every page."--Dominic Klyve, Central Washington University
"Comprehensive and thorough, this study of the life, work, and times of Leonhard Euler is written in an accessible style and strikes the right balance between his technical accomplishments and historical context. This will be a standard, foundational work on which all future scholarship on Euler, eighteenth-century mathematics and science, and indeed Enlightenment intellectual life will rest."--Kathryn M. Olesko, Georgetown University
"This will be the authoritative work on Euler's life. Embodying a great deal of research and information, the book provides a complete biography, connecting the year-by-year circumstances of Euler's life with his scientific work. One of the book's strengths is its account of the personal, institutional, and political milieu that formed the context of Euler's career."--Craig Fraser, University of Toronto
Review Quotes
"One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016"
About the Author
Ronald S. Calinger is professor emeritus of history at the Catholic University of America and the founding chancellor of the Euler Society. His books include A Contextual History of Mathematics, Vita Mathematica, and Classics of Mathematics.