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The Life of Leonard Euler

One of the Greatest Geniuses in Mathematical History

Jun 1, 2008

Leonard Euler left his indelible mark on almost every area of mathematics, publishing hundreds upon hundreds of mathematical papers and volumes throughout his career.

Leonard Euler (1707-1783) is considered by many to have been the greatest mathematician who ever lived.

This eighteenth century Swiss-born mathematician's contributions are comparable to those of Pythagoras, Euclid and Newton before him, and Gauss after him.

Leonard Euler's Work in Mathematics

Chief among the greatness of Euler's legacy in the field of mathematics (as well as in the many other scientific fields in which he found himself operating throughout his career), is the sheer volume of work he produced throughout his life. It has been estimated that a compilation of the written works of this genius would fill dozens of large volumes, and would cover almost every imaginable area of mathematics.

Euler based some of his most important work upon the recently-created calculus of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibnitz, formulated only a few years before his own birth, and took the idea of differential calculus to the next level, while at the same time creating such memorable mathematical legacies as Euler's Number ("e") and Euler's Identity (eip + 1 = 0), which some call the most beautiful equation in all of mathematics.

A Brief Biography of Mathematician Leonard Euler

Born in Basel, Switzerland with a minister for a father, Euler studied many topics in school in order to follow his heritage and become a minister himself. Upon being tutored by one of the other great mathematicians of all time, Johann Bernoulli (of the fame Bernoulli family of mathematicians), however,Euler's inherent mathematical genius was discovered. The course of his life would shift dramatically.

Blessed with an ability to express his ideas simply, with a vivid, photographic memory, and an ability with numbers which surpassed even most great mathematicians of his time, Euler quickly thrived under Bernoulli's tutorship.

In 1827, at the age of only 20, Euler moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, in order to fill a post at the prestigious Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences in the subject of physiology (another aspect of Euler's brilliance in all scientific matters) which had been recently vacated by Johann Bernoulli's son, Daniel (who became the author of the famous "Bernoulli's Principle").

Over his first 14 years in Russia, Euler found great success, being promoted to Professor of Physics in 1831 and publishing a prodigious number of mathematical papers and books on a variety of subjects. It was also during this time that the sight in Euler's right eye had deteriorated to almost complete blindness, though his sight remained in his left eye.

Political life in Russia was fairly turbulent during this time. Euler left with his wife, Katharina, in 1741, to take a position at the Berlin Academy in Germany.

Twenty-five years, several hundred important articles, and several of his most important books later, Euler was forced to leave Berlin by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who had found disfavor with Euler's lack of social sophistication.

Euler returned once again to St. Petersburg in 1766, the situation having improved since the accession of Catherine the Great to the Russian throne. He remained for the rest of his life.

Success in Blindness

During the last 17 years of Euler's life the eyesight in even his good eye deteriorated due to a cataract, and the genius was left almost completely blind, though undeterred in his mathematics. Through the work of transcribers, he remained as prolific as ever, continuing to publish paper after paper of mathematics of the highest degree.

Leonard Euler lived through both success and tragedy in his many moves, and changed the face of mathematics even more than Newton - the inventor of calculus, and perhaps even more than Euclid - the inventor of geometry.

Today, it is practically impossible to take a class in any mathematical subject and not be presented frequently with Euler's name or legacy. The importance of his work simply cannot be exaggerated.