The famous European scientist Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss is considered to be the greatest mathematician of all times. Despite the fact that Gauss himself came from the poorest strata of society: his father was a plumber and his grandfather was a peasant, fate destined him for great fame. The boy already at the age of three showed himself to be a prodigy; he knew how to count, write, read, and even helped his father in his work. 
The young talent, of course, was noticed. His curiosity was inherited from his uncle, his mother's brother. Carl Gauss, the son of a poor German, not only received a college education, but already at the age of 19 was considered the best European mathematician of that time.
The life of young Karl was influenced by his mother’s desire to make him not a rude and uncouth person like his father was, but intelligent and versatile personality. She sincerely rejoiced at her son's success and idolized him until the end of her life.
Many scientists considered Gauss not to be the mathematical king of Europe; he was called the king of the world for all the research, works, hypotheses, and proofs created by him. 
In the last years of the life of the mathematical genius, pundits gave him glory and honor, but, despite his popularity and world fame, Gauss never found full happiness. However, according to the memoirs of his contemporaries, the great mathematician appears as a positive, friendly and cheerful person.
Gauss worked almost until his death - 1855. Until his death, this talented man retained clarity of mind, a youthful thirst for knowledge and at the same time boundless curiosity.
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss is called the king of mathematicians. His discoveries in algebra and geometry gave direction to the development of science in the 19th century. In addition, he made significant contributions to astronomy, geodesy and physics.
Karl Gauss was born on April 30, 1777 in the German Duchy of Brunswick in the family of a poor canal caretaker. It is noteworthy that his parents did not remember the exact date of birth - Karl himself brought it out in the future.
Already at the age of 2, the boy’s relatives recognized him as a genius. At age 3, he read, wrote, and corrected his father's calculation errors. Gauss later recalled that he learned to count before he could talk.
At school, the boy’s genius was noticed by his teacher Martin Bartels, who later taught Nikolai Lobachevsky. The teacher sent a petition to the Duke of Brunswick and obtained a scholarship for the young man at the largest technical university in Germany.
From 1792 to 1795, Carl Gauss spent time at the University of Braunschweig, where he studied the works of Lagrange, Newton, and Euler. He spent the next 3 years studying at the University of Göttingen. His teacher was the outstanding German mathematician Abraham Kästner.
In the second year of study, the scientist begins to keep a diary of observations. Later biographers will draw from him many discoveries that Gauss did not disclose during his lifetime.
In 1798, Karl returned to his homeland. The Duke pays for the publication of the scientist's doctoral dissertation and grants him a scholarship. Gauss remained in Brunswick until 1807. During this period, he held the position of private assistant professor at a local university.
In 1806, the patron of the young scientist died in the war. But Carl Gauss had already made a name for himself. He is vying with each other for invitations to different European countries. The mathematician goes to work in the German university city of Göttingen.
In his new place, he receives the position of professor and director of the observatory. Here he remains until his death.
Carl Gauss received wide recognition during his lifetime. He was a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, awarded the prize of the Paris Academy of Sciences, the gold medal of the Royal Society of London, became a laureate of the Copley medal and a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Carl Gauss made fundamental discoveries in almost all areas of algebra and geometry. The most fruitful period is considered to be the time of his studies at the University of Göttingen.
While in collegiate college he proved the law of reciprocity of quadratic residues. And at the university, the mathematician managed to construct a regular seventeen-sided polygon using a ruler and compass and solved the problem of constructing regular polygons. The scientist valued this achievement most of all. So much so that he wanted to engrave a circle on his posthumous monument, which would contain a figure with 17 corners.
In 1801, Klaus published his work Arithmetic Studies. After 30 years, another masterpiece of the German mathematician will appear - “The Theory of Biquadratic Residues.” It provides proofs of important arithmetic theorems for real and complex numbers.
Gauss became the first to provide proofs of the fundamental theorem of algebra and began to study the internal geometry of surfaces. He also discovered the ring of complex Gaussian integer numbers, solved many mathematical problems, developed the theory of congruences, and laid the foundations of Riemannian geometry.
Vice-heliotrope. Brass, gold, glass, mahogany (created before 1801). With a handwritten inscription: “Property of Mr. Gauss.” Located at the University of Göttingen, First Physics Institute.
Carl Gauss' real fame came from his calculations, with the help of which he determined the position of the plant, discovered in 1801.
Subsequently, the scientist repeatedly returned to astronomical research. In 1811, he calculated the orbit of the newly discovered comet and made calculations to determine the location of the comet of the “Fire of Moscow” in 1812.
In the 20s of the 19th century, Gauss worked in the field of geodesy. It was he who created a new science - higher geodesy. He also develops computational methods for geodetic surveying and publishes a series of works on the theory of surfaces, included in the publication “Research on Curved Surfaces” in 1822.
The scientist also turns to physics. He develops the theories of capillarity and lens systems, lays the foundations of electromagnetism. Together with Wilhelm Weber, he invents the electric telegraph.
Karl Gauss was a maximalist. He never published raw, even brilliant works, considering them imperfect. Because of this, other mathematicians were ahead of him in a number of discoveries.
The scientist was also a polyglot. He spoke and wrote fluently in Latin, English, and French. And at the age of 62, he mastered Russian in order to read the works of Lobachevsky in the original.
Gauss was married twice and became the father of six children. Unfortunately, both spouses died early, and one of the children died in infancy.
Karl Gauss died in Göttingen on February 23, 1855. In his honor, by order of King George V of Hanover, a medal was minted with a portrait of the scientist and his title - “King of Mathematicians”.
Gauss Karl Friedrich (1777-1855)
I have known my results for a long time, I just don’t know how I will arrive at them.
The science of mathematics is the queen of all sciences.
K. Gauss
German mathematician and astronomer
Carl Friedrich Gauss was born on April 30, 1777 in Germany, in the city of Brunswick, into the family of a craftsman. The father, Gerhard Diederich Gauss, had many different professions, since due to lack of money he had to do everything from constructing fountains to gardening. Karl's mother, Dorothea, was also from a simple family of stonemasons. She was distinguished by her cheerful character, she was an intelligent, cheerful and determined woman, she loved her only son and was proud of him.
As a child, Gauss learned to count very early. One summer, his father took three-year-old Karl to work in a quarry. When the workers finished work, Gerhard, Karl's father, began to make payments to each worker. After tedious calculations, which took into account the number of hours, output, working conditions, etc., the father read out a statement from which it followed who was owed how much. And suddenly little Karl said that the count was incorrect, that there was a mistake. They checked, and the boy was right. They began to say that little Gauss learned to count before he spoke.
When Karl was 7 years old, he was assigned to the Catherine School, which was headed by Büttner. He immediately paid attention to the boy who solved the examples the fastest. At school, Gauss met and became friends with a young man, Buettner's assistant, whose name was Johann Martin Christian Bartels. Together with Bartels, 10-year-old Gauss took up mathematical transformation and the study of classical works. Thanks to Bartels, Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand and the nobles of Brunswick drew attention to the young talent. Johann Martin Christian Bartels subsequently studied at Helmstedt and Göttingen universities, and subsequently came to Russia and was a professor at Kazan University, Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky listened to his lectures.
Meanwhile, Karl Gauss entered the Catherine Gymnasium in 1788. The poor boy would never have been able to study at the gymnasium, and then at the university, without the help and patronage of the Duke of Brunswick, to whom Gauss was devoted and grateful throughout his life. The Duke always remembered the shy young man of extraordinary abilities. Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand provided the necessary funds to continue the young man’s education at the Karolinska College, which prepared him for entering the university.
In 1795, Karl Gauss entered the University of Göttingen to study. Among the young mathematician's university friends was Farkas Bolyai, the father of János Bolyai, the great Hungarian mathematician. In 1798 he graduated from the university and returned to his homeland.
In his native Braunschweig, for ten years, Gauss experienced a kind of “Boldino autumn” - a period of ebullient creativity and great discoveries. The area of mathematics in which he works is called the “three great As”: arithmetic, algebra and analysis.
It all started with the art of counting. Gauss counts constantly, he performs calculations with decimal numbers with an incredible number of decimal places. Over the course of his life, he becomes a virtuoso in numerical calculations. Gauss accumulates information about various sums of numbers, calculations of infinite series. It's like a game where the genius of a scientist comes up with hypotheses and discoveries. He is like a brilliant prospector, he feels when his pickaxe hits a gold nugget.
Gauss compiles tables of reciprocals. He decided to trace how the period of the decimal fraction changes depending on the natural number p.
He proved that a regular 17-gon can be constructed using a compass and ruler, i.e. that the equation is:
or equation
solvable in quadratic radicals.
He gave a complete solution to the problem of constructing regular heptagons and ninegons. Scientists have been working on this problem for 2000 years.
Gauss begins to keep a diary. Reading it, we see how a fascinating mathematical action begins to unfold, the scientist’s masterpiece, his Arithmetic Studies, is born.
He proved the fundamental theorem of algebra, in number theory he proved the law of reciprocity, which was discovered by the great Leonhard Euler, but he could not prove it. Carl Gauss deals with the theory of surfaces in geometry, from which it follows that geometry is constructed on any surface, and not just on a plane, as in Euclidean planimetry or spherical geometry. He managed to construct lines on the surface that play the role of straight lines, and was able to measure distances on the surface.
Applied astronomy is firmly within the scope of his scientific interests. This is an experimental and mathematical work consisting of observations, studies of experimental points, mathematical methods for processing observation results, and numerical calculations. Gauss's interest in practical astronomy was known, and he did not trust anyone with tedious calculations.
The discovery of the small planet Ceres brought him fame as the most famous astronomer in Europe. And it was like this. First, D. Piazzi discovered a small planet and named it Ceres. But he was unable to determine its exact location, since the celestial body was hidden behind dense clouds. Gauss, at the tip of his pen, rediscovered Ceres at his desk. He calculated the orbit of the small planet and, in a letter to Piazzi, indicated where and when Ceres could be observed. When astronomers pointed their telescopes at the indicated point, they saw Ceres, which reappeared. There was no end to their amazement.
The young scientist is tipped to become the director of the Göttingen Observatory. The following was written about him: “Gauss’s fame is well deserved, and the young 25-year-old man is already ahead of all modern mathematicians...”.
On November 22, 1804, Karl Gauss married Joanna Osthoff from Brunswick. He wrote to his friend Bolyai: “Life seems to me like an eternal spring with all new bright flowers.” He is happy, but it doesn't last long. Five years later, Joanna dies after the birth of her third child, son Louis, who, in turn, did not live long, only six months. Karl Gauss is left alone with two children - son Joseph and daughter Minna. And then another misfortune happened: the Duke of Brunswick, an influential friend and patron, suddenly died. The Duke died from wounds received in battles, which he lost, at Auerstedt and Jena.
Meanwhile, the scientist is invited by the University of Göttingen. Thirty-year-old Gauss received the chair of mathematics and astronomy, and then the post of director of the Göttingen Astronomical Observatory, which he held until the end of his life.
On August 4, 1810, he married the beloved friend of his late wife, the daughter of the Göttingen councilor Wal-dec. Her name was Minna, she gave birth to Gauss a daughter and two sons. At home, Karl was a strict conservative who did not tolerate any innovations. He had an iron character, and his outstanding abilities and genius were combined with truly childish modesty. He was deeply religious and firmly believed in an afterlife. The furnishings of his small office throughout the life of a scientist spoke of the unpretentious tastes of its owner: a small desk, a desk painted with white oil paint, a narrow sofa and a single chair. The candle burns dimly, the temperature in the room is very moderate. This is the abode of the “king of mathematicians,” as Gauss was called, the “Göttingen colossus.”
The scientist’s creative personality has a very strong humanitarian component: he is interested in languages, history, philosophy and politics. He learned the Russian language, in letters to friends in St. Petersburg he asked to send him books and magazines in Russian and even “The Captain’s Daughter” by Pushkin.
Karl Gauss was offered to take a chair at the Berlin Academy of Sciences, but he was so overwhelmed by his personal life and its problems (after all, he had just become engaged to his second wife) that he refused the tempting offer. After only a short stay in Göttingen, Gauss formed a circle of students; they idolized their teacher, worshiped him, and subsequently became famous scientists themselves. These are Schumacher, Gerlin, Nicolai, Möbius, Struve and Encke. The friendship arose in the field of applied astronomy. They all become directors of observatories.
Karl Gauss's work at the university was, of course, related to teaching. Oddly enough, his attitude towards this activity is very, very negative. He believed that this was a waste of time, which was taken away from scientific work and research. However, everyone noted the high quality of his lectures and their scientific value. And since by nature Karl Gauss was a kind, sympathetic and attentive person, the students paid him with respect and love.
His studies in dioptrics and practical astronomy led him to practical applications, particularly how to improve the telescope. He carried out the necessary calculations, but no one paid attention to them. Half a century passed, and Steingel used the calculations and formulas of Gauss and created an improved telescope design.
In 1816, a new observatory was built and Gauss moved into a new apartment as director of the Göttingen Observatory. Now the manager has important concerns - he needs to replace instruments that have long been obsolete, especially telescopes. Gauss ordered the famous masters Reichenbach, Frauenhofer, Utzschneider and Ertel two new meridian instruments, which were ready in 1819 and 1821. The Gottingen Observatory, under the leadership of Gauss, begins to make the most accurate measurements.
The scientist invented the heliotron. This is a simple and cheap device, consisting of a telescope and two flat mirrors, placed normally. They say that everything ingenious is simple, and this also applies to the heliotron. The device turned out to be absolutely necessary for geodetic measurements.
Gauss calculates the effect of gravity on the surfaces of planets. It turns out that only very small creatures can live on the Sun, since the force of gravity there is 28 times greater than that on Earth.
In physics, he is interested in magnetism and electricity. In 1833, the electromagnetic telegraph invented by him was demonstrated. It was the prototype of the modern telegraph. The conductor through which the signal passed was made of iron 2 or 3 millimeters thick. On this first telegraph, individual words were first transmitted, and then entire phrases. Public interest in Gauss's electromagnetic telegraph was very great. The Duke of Cambridge specially came to Göttingen to meet him.
“If there were money,” Gauss wrote to Schumacher, “then electromagnetic telegraphy could be brought to such perfection and to such dimensions that the imagination is simply horrified.” After successful experiments in Göttingen, the Saxon Minister of State Lindenau invited Leipzig professor Ernst Heinrich Weber, who together with Gauss demonstrated the telegraph, to present a report on “the construction of an electromagnetic telegraph between Dresden and Leipzig.” Ernst Heinrich Weber's report contained prophetic words: “...if the earth is ever covered with a network of railways with telegraph lines, it will resemble the nervous system in the human body...”. Weber took an active part in the project, made many improvements, and the first Gauss-Weber telegraph lasted ten years, until on December 16, 1845, after a strong lightning strike, most of its wire line burned out. The remaining piece of wire became a museum exhibit and is stored in Göttingen.
Gauss and Weber conducted famous experiments in the field of magnetic and electrical units and the measurement of magnetic fields. The results of their research formed the basis of the theory of potential, the basis of the modern theory of errors.
While Gauss was studying crystallography, he invented a device that could be used to measure the angles of a crystal with high precision using a 12-inch Reichenbach theodolite, and he also invented a new way to designate crystals.
An interesting page of his heritage is connected with the foundations of geometry. They said that the great Gauss studied the theory of parallel lines and came to a new, completely different geometry. Gradually, a group of mathematicians formed around him and exchanged ideas in this area. It all started with the fact that young Gauss, like other mathematicians, tried to prove the parallel theorem based on axioms. Having rejected all pseudo-evidence, he realized that nothing could be created along this path. The non-Euclidean hypothesis frightened him. These thoughts cannot be published - the scientist would be anathematized. But the thought cannot be stopped, and Gaussian non-Euclidean geometry - here it is in front of us, in the diaries. This is his secret, hidden from the general public, but known to his closest friends, since mathematicians have a tradition of correspondence, a tradition of exchanging thoughts and ideas.
Farkas Bolyai, a professor of mathematics, a friend of Gauss, while raising his son Janos, a talented mathematician, persuaded him not to study the theory of parallels in geometry, saying that this topic was cursed in mathematics and, except for misfortune, it would bring nothing. And what Karl Gauss did not say was later said by Lobachevsky and Bolyai. Therefore, absolute non-Euclidean geometry is named after them.
Over the years, Gauss's reluctance to teach and lecture disappears. By this time, he is surrounded by students and friends. On July 16, 1849, the fiftieth anniversary of Gauss receiving his doctorate was celebrated in Göttingen. Numerous students and admirers, colleagues and friends gathered. He was awarded diplomas of honorary citizen of Göttingen and Braunschweig, orders of various states. A gala dinner took place, at which he said that in Göttingen there are all conditions for the development of talent, they help here in everyday difficulties, and in science, and also that “...banal phrases have never had power in Göttingen.”
Carl Gauss has aged. Now he works less intensively, but his range of activities is still wide: convergence of series, practical astronomy, physics.
The winter of 1852 was very difficult for him, his health deteriorated sharply. He never went to doctors because he did not trust medical science. His friend, Professor Baum, examined the scientist and said that the situation was very serious and it was associated with heart failure. The health of the great mathematician steadily deteriorated, he stopped walking and died on February 23, 1855.
Contemporaries of Karl Gauss felt the superiority of genius. The medal, minted in 1855, is engraved: Mathematicorum princeps (Princeps of Mathematicians). In astronomy, his memory remains in the name of one of the fundamental constants, a system of units, a theorem, a principle, formulas - all of this bears the name of Karl Gauss.
Carl Gauss is a brief biography of the German mathematician, mechanic, physicist, astronomer and surveyor presented in this article.
Carl Friedrich Gauss was born on April 30, 1777 into a poor family. His parents were uneducated, but the boy showed signs of genius from childhood. This is evidenced by the work he wrote, Arithmetic Studies, which he completed in 1798. At the age of 21, the book saw the world, and his abilities so impressed the Duke of Brunswick that he sent the young man to Charles College to study. Here he studied until 1795, and then transferred to the University of Götting, from which he graduated in 1798. Already in his student years, he proved and disproved a large number of theorems.
1796 was the most successful year for him. In March, Carl Gauss discovered the rules for constructing a decagon, improved modular arithmetic, and simplified manipulations in number theory. In April, the scientist proved the law of reciprocity of quadratic residues. A month later he proposed his prime number theorem to other mathematicians, and in July he made another discovery - every positive integer can be expressed as the sum of no more than 3 triangular numbers.
In 1799, Carl Gauss defended his scientific dissertation in absentia. In 1807, he received the position of professor of astronomy, as well as director of the Göttingen astronomical observatory.
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (briefly), born April 30, 1777 in Brunswick, Lower Saxony, Germany. Father Gebhard Dietrich Gauss is a mason and gardener. Mother Dorothea Bence is a housewife. In 1782, he entered the public school of St. Catherine. Little Karl solved mathematical problems with ease, which amazed his teacher, Mr. Büttner. It was Büttner who first discovered Karl's mathematical talent. He insisted that the boy should not give up his studies under any circumstances, but would go on to university. Karl began studying with Martin Bartels, his elder by eight years, a talented mathematician. At the age of 10, Karl independently deduced the binomial theorem. In 1788, he began studying at the Martino-Catharineum gymnasium, where he excelled in mathematics, ancient Greek, Latin, and English. In 1792, he entered Caroline College, graduating with a degree in mathematics. In 1795, Gauss entered the University of Göttingen. After just six months, Gauss developed a mathematical formula to find all the regular polygons that could be constructed using only a ruler and a compass. In 1807, Gauss accepted the chair of astronomy at Göttingen, which he held until the end of his life.He discovered the Egregium theorem, which relates the curvature of a surface to distances and angles.
