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Ferdinand von Lindemann

 
Ferdinand Von Lindemann

 
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Ferdinand von Lindemann
 
 
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Carl Louis Ferdinand von Lindemann (April 12, 1852 – March 6 1939) was a German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 mathematician
Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and/or research is the field of mathematics....
, noted for his proof, published in 1882, that p
Pi

Pi or p is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter in Euclidean geometry; this is the same value as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius....
 (pi) is a transcendental number
Transcendental number

In mathematics, a transcendental number is a number that is not algebraic number, that is, not a solution of a non-zero polynomial equation with rational number coefficients....
, i.e., it is not a zero of any polynomial
Polynomial

In mathematics, a polynomial is an expression constructed from variables and constants, using the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and constant non-negative whole number exponents....
 with rational
Rational number

In mathematics, a rational number is a number which can be expressed as a quotient of two integers. Non-integer rational numbers are usually written as the vulgar fraction , where b is not 0 ....
 coefficients.

Life and education
Lindemann was born in Hanover
Hanover

Hanover or Hannover#Definitions , on the river Leine, is the capital city of the Federal states of Germany of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the House of Hanover, in their dignities as the dukes of Brunswick-L?neburg ....
, the capital of the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover

The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October of 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III of the United Kingdom to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic wars....
. His father, Ferdinand Lindemann, taught modern languages at a Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English Grammar schools in the United Kingdoms or sixth form colleges and U.S....
 in Hanover. His mother, Emilie Crusius, was the daughter of the Gymnasium's headmaster.






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Carl Louis Ferdinand von Lindemann (April 12, 1852 – March 6 1939) was a German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 mathematician
Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and/or research is the field of mathematics....
, noted for his proof, published in 1882, that p
Pi

Pi or p is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter in Euclidean geometry; this is the same value as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius....
 (pi) is a transcendental number
Transcendental number

In mathematics, a transcendental number is a number that is not algebraic number, that is, not a solution of a non-zero polynomial equation with rational number coefficients....
, i.e., it is not a zero of any polynomial
Polynomial

In mathematics, a polynomial is an expression constructed from variables and constants, using the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and constant non-negative whole number exponents....
 with rational
Rational number

In mathematics, a rational number is a number which can be expressed as a quotient of two integers. Non-integer rational numbers are usually written as the vulgar fraction , where b is not 0 ....
 coefficients.

Life and education


Lindemann was born in Hanover
Hanover

Hanover or Hannover#Definitions , on the river Leine, is the capital city of the Federal states of Germany of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the House of Hanover, in their dignities as the dukes of Brunswick-L?neburg ....
, the capital of the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover

The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October of 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III of the United Kingdom to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic wars....
. His father, Ferdinand Lindemann, taught modern languages at a Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English Grammar schools in the United Kingdoms or sixth form colleges and U.S....
 in Hanover. His mother, Emilie Crusius, was the daughter of the Gymnasium's headmaster. The family later moved to Schwerin
Schwerin

Schwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population as of end of 2007 was 95,855....
, where young Ferdinand attended school.

He studied mathematics at Göttingen
Göttingen

G?ttingen is a college town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the Capital of the district of G?ttingen . The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686....
, Erlangen
Erlangen

Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach....
, and Munich
Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
. At Erlangen he received a doctorate, supervised by Felix Klein
Felix Klein

Felix Christian Klein was a Germany mathematician, known for his work in group theory, function theory, non-Euclidean geometry, and on the connections between geometry and group theory....
, on non-Euclidean geometry
Non-Euclidean geometry

In mathematics, non-Euclidean geometry describes hyperbolic geometry and elliptic geometry, which are contrasted with Euclidean geometry. The essential difference between Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry is the nature of Parallel lines....
.

While a professor at the University of Königsberg
University of Königsberg

The University of K?nigsberg was the university of K?nigsberg, East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 by Albert, Duke of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
, Lindemann acted as supervisor for the doctoral thesis of David Hilbert
David Hilbert

David Hilbert was a Germany mathematician, recognized as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries....
, Hermann Minkowski
Hermann Minkowski

Hermann Minkowski was a Germans mathematician of Jewish and Poles descent, who created and developed the geometry of numbers and who used geometrical methods to solve difficult problems in number theory, mathematical physics, and the theory of relativity....
, and Arnold Sommerfeld
Arnold Sommerfeld

Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld was a Germany theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic physics and quantum physics, and also educated and groomed a large number of students for the new era of theoretical physics....
.

Transcendence proof


In 1882, he published the result for which he is best known, the transcendence
Transcendental number

In mathematics, a transcendental number is a number that is not algebraic number, that is, not a solution of a non-zero polynomial equation with rational number coefficients....
 of Pi
Pi

Pi or p is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter in Euclidean geometry; this is the same value as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius....
. His methods were similar to those used nine years earlier by Charles Hermite
Charles Hermite

Charles Hermite was a France mathematician who did research on number theory, quadratic forms, invariant theory, orthogonal polynomials, elliptic functions, and algebra....
 to show that e, the base of natural logarithms
E (mathematical constant)

The mathematical constant e is the unique real number such that the function ex has the same value as the derivative, for all values of x....
, is transcendental. Before the publication of Lindemann's proof, it was known that if Pi is transcendental, then the ancient and celebrated problem of squaring the circle
Squaring the circle

Squaring the circle is a problem proposed by classical antiquity geometers. It is the challenge of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle by using only a finite number of steps with compass and straightedge....
 by compass and straightedge
Compass and straightedge

Compass-and-straightedge or ruler-and-compass construction is the construction of lengths or angles using only an Idealization ruler and Compass ....
 could not be solved.

See also

  • Lindemann-Weierstrass theorem


External links