Carl Anton Bretschneider

Carl Anton Bretschneider ( born May 27, 1808 in Schneeberg, † November 6, 1878 in Gotha ) was a German mathematician and lawyer.

Life

Carl Anton Bretschneider was born the son of the then famous theologian and pastor Karl Gottlieb Bretschneider and Charlotte Hauschild from Altenburg. 1816 his father was transferred as General Superintendent and Oberkonsistorialrat to Gotha, where he was much literary activities until his death. Here Carl Anton visited the Academic Gymnasium high school illustrious (later famous school Ernestinum ). He is described as a conscientious and diligent student, and took on his father's wish at the philologist Friedrich Wilhelm Döring (1756-1837) still private lessons in Latin. However, his real interest drew him to mathematical, physical, geographical, and historical studies. He sealed itself off from his peers to find the necessary time for it. He was in all classes, the best student of the mathematician Friedrich von Kries, who introduced him through private lessons already in the higher mathematics. He put Easter 1826, the Matura examination in mathematics in the highest honors and in the remaining subjects with well. His great desire to take a degree in mathematics and the natural sciences was not granted by his autocratic father. At that time there was a certain prejudice against such an abstract profession.

So he started in 1826 in Leipzig to study law in the hope that convert later as a legal university lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and thus in the mathematical and astronomical teaching. Secretly he ran the study of mathematics, astronomy and physics. Helpful to him here was the contact with the mathematicians Heinrich Wilhelm Brandes and August Ferdinand Möbius. Already in the first year of study, he won a first prize in a math contest.

After a commendable passed his exams, he was appointed in Leipzig Royal Saxon notary. In the summer of 1830, he was appointed by the Law Faculty lecturer for the rights. In the following semesters, he lectured on Roman legal history and German law at Leipzig University. Brandes and Möbius, who himself studied several years Jurisprudence and Observer was at the observatory Leipzig, procured him a job there as an adjunct, but he had to turn down on the father's command. For the teaching of his favorite subjects since 1829, he prepared himself by extensive private lessons in mathematics and physics.

Due to a disease that was allegedly caused by the dull Leipzig climate, he returned dejected on the advice of doctors end 1831 back to Gotha in his father's house back. Only the astute practitioner opened the Father 's eyes. He allowed his son in the fall of 1835, the complete freedom of choice of profession.

Due to the elapsed time he took over from his dearest wish, the academic teaching, farewell. Still in 1835 he took as a mathematical assistant teacher at the high school illustrious the aging Kries part of his hours from where he obtained brilliant demonstration lessons for the public school office. Already Easter 1836 he got a job as a high school professor at the newly founded Real Gymnasium in Gotha for mathematics and geography.

For the city of Gotha he made in the city council nonprofit college, and he was Worshipful Master in the Masonic Lodge Ernst on Compass.

As a father, he was married three times, after his first two wives had died. From 1872, a body suffering inhibited his creativity. His son Alfred has 1879 published an obituary.

In mathematical field he dealt with geometry, number theory, the logarithmic integral and history of geometry. He introduced in 1837 the name of the Euler constant in the mathematics.

Writings

• Contributions to spherical trigonometry, Crelle Journal 13, 1835, pp. 85-92
• Contributions to spherical trigonometry. ( Circuit), Crelle Journal 13, 1835, pp. 145-158
• Theoriae logarithmic integralis lineamenta nova, Crelle Journal 17, 1837, pp. 257-285
• Investigation of the trigonometric ratios of the straight rectangle, Grunert Archive 2, 1842, pp. 225-261
• Panels for the decomposition of numbers to 4100 in fourth powers, Crelle Journal 46, 1853, pp. 1-23
• The tenet of Matthew Stewart, Grunert archive 50, 1869, pp. 11-17 ( in Internet Archive :)
• The harmonic polar curves, Grunert archive 50, 1869, pp. 475-499 (on the Internet Archive :)
• The geometry and the geometer Euclid before: a historical experiment, BG Teubner, Leipzig 1870 ( in Internet Archive :)
• For the calculation of the trapezoid from its sides, Grunert archive 52, 1870, pp. 24-25 ( in Internet Archive :)
• Simple calculation of the angle of a plane or spherical triangle from the sides of the figure, Grunert archive 52, 1870, pp. 371-374 (on the Internet Archive :)