Hieronymus Georg Zeuthen
Hieronymus Georg Zeuthen (* February 15, 1839 in Grimstrup in Jutland; † January 6, 1920 in Copenhagen) was a Danish mathematician who worked on algebraic geometry and mathematics history.
Zeuthen was the son of a pastor. 1849 the family moved to Soro, where he went to school until 1857. He studied mathematics at the University of Copenhagen. In 1862 he received his master's degree and received a scholarship to study abroad. For this purpose he went to Michel Chasles in Paris, where he dealt with abzählender geometry, is in demand, for example, on the number of curves of a given type that touch a given curve. Chasles, who was interested in geometry, in addition to the history of mathematics, became for him a formative influence. In 1865 he received his doctorate in Copenhagen with his dissertation bidrag Nyt om til lar Systemer af Keglesnit about the characteristics of systems of conics. In 1871 he became an associate professor in Copenhagen and editor of Mathematisk Tidskrift, which he remained until 1889. In 1886 he became a full professor. Zeuthen was twice rector of the University and also taught at the Polytechnic Institute.
Zeuthen in 1880 honored with the Dannebrogorden. Almost forty years he was secretary of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences. He also belonged to numerous other academies and learned societies.
In addition to his contributions to the enumerative geometry, the long led a shadowy existence because of their little rigorous methods, but the end of the 20th century was a more active area of research in algebraic geometry, he is known today primarily for his contributions to mathematics history research, especially the ancient Greek Mathematics and the Mathematics of the Middle Ages. With astute, partly speculative considerations he made an attempt to reconstruct the actions of the mathematicians from the perspective and with the methods of the respective time out, in contrast to the other major historian of mathematics of the 19th century, Moritz Cantor, who held strictly to the traditional instruments. A role model for him while Paul Tannery, with whom he was in correspondence. In Denmark, he also worked with his friend the historian of mathematics Heiberg, for example, in the publication of the mechanics of Archimedes, which was Heiberg in Constantinople Opel. In his book of 1886, he tried to prove that Apollonius of Perga into his theory of the conic sections (and thus Greek mathematics that time in general) have analytic geometry (coordinate systems) used, he gives the algebraic calculations replaced by geometric auxiliary constructions. The hypothesis that Greek mathematics knew a geometric shape algebra, already represented Tannery. In contrast to the simple arithmetic in geometry, a theory of irrational sizes was possible, the Zeuthen in studies retraced up to the Pythagoreans. In his study of mathematics of modern times he has addresses in particular Isaac Barrow, Newton's teacher, whom he regarded as essential to the conceptual elaboration of the fundamental theorem of calculus that differentiation and integration are mutually inverse operations.
Writings
- Demolition of an elementary geometric conic teaching. Teubner 1882.
- The theory of conic sections in antiquity. Copenhagen 1886 (one year before in the Forh.Vid.Selskab published in Danish ).
- History of mathematics in ancient and medieval times. Copenhagen 1896 ( previously published in 1893 in Danish at the same publisher AFHoest ).
- History of Mathematics in the 16th and 17th centuries. Teubner 1903, and as a book of 17 essays on the history of the mathematical sciences (ed. Moritz Cantor ). The Danish edition appeared in 1903 in Copenhagen.
- Textbook of enumerative methods of geometry. Teubner, 1914.
- Hvorledes Mathematiken i tiden fra til Plato Euclid blev rational Videnskab. Forh.Dansk Vid.Selskab 1917, p.199 - 369th