Leonhard Euler

Leonhard Euler, one of the most famous mathematicians of all time, was born in Basel, Switzerland, on April 15, 1707. His father was a Lutheran minister and also an amateur mathematician who passed along his enthusiasm for mathematics to his son even though he planned for his son to become a clergyman. He entered the University of Basel when 13, where the Swiss mathematician Johann Bernoulli (father of Daniel Bernoulli) tutored him and obtained his master's degree at the young age of 16. Although he also studied theology and Hebrew, his impressive talent in mathematics convinced his father to allow him to enter that field.

In 1727, Catherine I of Russia invited Euler to join the faculty of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. He became chairman of mathematics there in 1733, replacing Daniel Bernoulli. In 1735, he lost sight in one eye while working around the clock for three days to solve a mathematics problem that took other mathematicians months to solve. While in Russia, he prepared some 90 papers for publication and wrote the two-volume book Mechanica. He collaborated with Daniel Bernoulli in the field of fluid mechanics and derived the equation that related velocity and pressure, which became known as Bernoulli's equation. He also conceived of pressure as something that could change from point to point throughout a fluid.

In 1741, at the urging of Frederick the Great, Euler moved to Berlin and became professor of mathematics at the Berlin Academy of Sciences, which he turned into a major academy. Over the next 25 years, Euler prepared at least 380 papers for publication. After his relationship with Frederick deteriorated, he accepted the invitation from Catherine the Great to return to St. Petersburg in 1766 where he became director of the Academy of Sciences. Soon after his return, he became almost totally blind. Nevertheless, he excelled at solving complex calculations in his head. While at St. Petersburg, he worked on developing a better theory of lunar motion that involved the interactions of the sun, moon, and Earth.

Euler contributed to the subjects of geometry, calculus, trigonometry, and number theory. He standardized modern mathematical notation using Greek symbols that continue to be used today. He also contributed to the fields of astronomy, mechanics, optics, and acoustics, and made a major contribution to theoretical aerodynamics. He derived the continuity equation and the equations for the motion of an inviscid, incompressible fluid.

Euler suffered a stroke a died on September 18, 1783 in St. Petersburg.