In 1720, at age thirteen, he enrolled at the University of Basel. Paul was a friend of the Bernoulli family Johann Bernoulli, then regarded as Europe's foremost mathematician, would eventually be the most important influence on young Leonhard.Įuler's formal education started in Basel, where he was sent to live with his maternal grandmother. Soon after the birth of Leonhard, the Eulers moved from Basel to the town of Riehen, Switzerland, where Leonhard spent most of his childhood. He had two younger sisters, Anna Maria and Maria Magdalena, and a younger brother, Johann Heinrich. Leonhard Euler was born on 15 April 1707, in Basel, Switzerland, to Paul III Euler, a pastor of the Reformed Church, and Marguerite née Brucker, another pastor's daughter. He spent most of his adult life in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and in Berlin, then the capital of Prussia.Īmongst his many discoveries and developments, Euler is credited for introducing the greek letter pi to denominate the Archimedes constant the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, and for developing a new mathematical constant, the "e" also known as Euler's Number, which is equivalent to a logarithm's natural base, and has several applications such as to calculate compound interest.Ī statement attributed to Pierre-Simon Laplace expresses Euler's influence on mathematics: "Read Euler, read Euler, he is the master of us all." Early life He is also widely considered to be the most prolific, as his collected works fill 92 volumes, more than anyone else in the field. He is also known for his work in mechanics, fluid dynamics, optics, astronomy and music theory.Įuler was one of the most eminent mathematicians of the 18th century and is held to be one of the greatest in history. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion of a mathematical function. Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who made important and influential discoveries in many branches of mathematics, such as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory, while also making pioneering contributions to several branches such as topology and analytic number theory. Nothing takes place in the world whose meaning is not that of some maximum or minimum.
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