19th Century Mathematics

Dane Caspar Wessel
1745-1818
Danish-Norwegian
Invented a geometric way of representing complex numbers which pre-dated
Argand
Jean-Robert Argand
1768-1822
Swiss
Argand diagram (graphic portrayal of complex numbers, those of the form x + y i, in
which x and y are real numbers and i is the square root of -1
Joseph Fourier
1768-1830
French
Studied periodic functions and infinite sums in which the terms are trigonometric
functions (Fourier series)
Carl Friedrich Gauss

1777-1855
German
Pattern in occurrence of prime numbers, construction of heptadecagon,
Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, exposition of complex numbers, least squares
approximation method, Gaussian distribution , Gaussian function, Gaussian
error curve, non-Euclidean geometry, Gaussian curvature
Niccolo Paganini
1782-1840
Italian
Discovered the second smallest pair of amicable numbers (1, 184 and 1210)
Augustin-Louis Cauchy
1789-1857
French
Early pioneer of mathematical analysis, reformulated and proved theorems of
calculus in a rigorous manner, Cauchy`s theorem (a fundamental theorem of
group theory)
August Ferdinand Mobius

1790-1868
German
Mobius strip (a two-dimensional surface with only one side), Mobius
configuration, Mobius transformations, Mobius transform (number theory),
Mobius function, Mobius inversion formula
George Peacock
1791-1858
British
Invention of symbolic algebra (early attempt to place algebra on a strictly
logical basis)
Charles Babbage
1791-1871
British
Designed a “difference engine” that could automatically perform
computations based on instructions stored on cards or tape, Forerunner of
programmable computer
Nikolai Lobachevsky
1792-1856
Russian
Developed theory of hyperbolic geometry and curved spaces independently of
Bolyai
Niels Henrik Abel

1802-1829
Norwegian
Proved impossibility of solving quantic equations, group theory, Abelian groups,
Abelian categories, Abelian variety.
Janos Bolyai
1802-1860
Hungarian
Explored hyperbolic geometry and curved spaces independently of Lobachevsky
Carl Jacobi
1804-1851
German
Important contributions to analysis, theory of periodic and elliptic functions,
determinants and matrices
Johann Peter Gustav Lejuene Dirichlet

1805-1859
German
Credited with being one of the first mathematicians to give the modern formal
definition of a function; number theory; analysis; and mechanics
William Hamilton
1805-1865
Irish
Theory of quaternions (first example of a non-commutative algebra)
Herman Grassmann
1809-1877
German
Provided the first example of a non-commutative algebra (in which a x b does
not always equal b x a
Evariste Galois
1811-1832
French
Proved that there is no general algebraic method for solving polynomial
equations of degree greater than four, laid groundwork for abstract algebra,
Galois theory, group theory, ring theory
George Boole
1815-1864
British
Devised Boolean algebra (using operators AND, OR and NOT), starting point of
modern mathematical logic, led to the development of computer science
Karl Weierstrass
1815-1897
German
Discovered a continuous function with no derivate, advancements in calculus of
variations, reformulated calculus in a more rigorous fashion, pioneer in
development of mathematical analysis
Arthur Cayley
1821-1895
British
Pioneer of modern group theory, matrix algebra, theory of higher singularities ,
theory of invariants, higher dimensional geometry, extended Hamilton`s
quaternions to create octonions
Bernhard Riemann
1826-1866
German
Non-Euclidean elliptic geometry, Riemann surfaces, Riemannian geometry
(differential geometry in multiple dimensions), complex manifold theory, zeta
function, Riemann Hypothesis
Richard Dedekind
1831-1916
German
Defined some important concepts of set theory such as similar sets and infinite
sets, proposed Dedekind cut (now a standard definition of the real numbers)
John Venn
1834-1923
British
Introduced Venn diagrams into set theory (now ubiquitous tool in probability,
logic and statistics)
Marius Sophus Lie
1842-1899
Norwegian
Applied algebra to geometric theory of differential equations, continuous
symmetry, Lie groups of transformations
Georg Cantor
1845-1918
German
Creator of set theory, rigorous treatment of the notion of infinity and transfinite
numbers, Cantor`s theorem which implies the existence of an “infinity of
infinities”
Gottlob Frege
1848-1925
German
One of the founders of modern logic, Begriffsschrift (first rigorous treatment
of ideas of functions and variables in logic), major contribution to study of the
foundations of mathematics
Felix Klein
1849-1925
German
Klein Bottle (a one-sided closed surface in four-dimensional space), Erlangen
Program to classify geometries by their underlying symmetry groups, work on
group theory and function theory
Henri Poincare
1854-1912
French
Partial solution to “three body problem”, foundations of modern chaos
theory, extended theory of mathematical topology, Poincare conjecture
Hermann Minskowski
1864-1909
German
Geometry of numbers (geometrical method in multi-dimensional space for
solving number theory problems), Minskowski space-time

19th Century Mathematics

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Dane Caspar Wessel

Carl Friedrich Gauss

August Ferdinand Mobius

Niels Henrik Abel

Johann Peter Gustav Lejuene Dirichlet

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