Introduction
Throughout history, the world has given several eminent figures. One of them was Carl Friedrich Gauss, a German mathematician, who made a range of discoveries in this and other spheres. Therefore, Gauss deserves to be called a genius because his skills, knowledge, and approach changed the scientific world.
Childhood
Now it is time to learn more about the scientist and look at how he developed his talent. Gauss came into the world on April 30, 1777, in the German city of Braunschweig or Brunswick (Gray). The mathematician grew up in a poor family, but this did not impede his outstanding skills (Magnet Academy). His mother, Dorothea Benze, was intelligent and kind but unlearned. Carl Friedrich’s father, Gebhard Dietrich Gauss, had to work as a butcher, sales assistant, gardener, and treasurer in an insurance company to keep a family (Famous Scientists). From an early age, Gauss demonstrated astonishing mathematical competence and learned to calculate before he began speaking.
Seven-year-old Carl went to St. Katherine’s Public School, where he showed his miraculous talents. Once, he overwhelmed his teacher, Mr. Büttner, with his ability to calculate faster than the experienced educator. However, Mr. Büttner did not feel embarrassed or angry but gave little Gauss an advanced mathematics book instead. The teacher was convinced that the boy’s origin from a poor family is unimportant, and one should give the original a chance (Famous Scientists). This event helped Carl Friedrich to evolve into a genius because, in those times and later, he met people who were ready to give him an opportunity.
Education
The mathematician’s education path was continuous and prominent for achievements. After attending schools, including the Martino-Katharineum school, and studying Latin, Ancient Greek, and Mathematics, as well as deriving the binomial theorem, Gauss continued his study (Famous Scientists). At the age of fifteen, under the Duke’s patronage, Carl was enrolled at Caroline College and obtained a degree in mathematics in three years. After college, the doctorate study at the University of Göttingen followed. Gauss revealed his deep knowledge of mathematics, and it surpassed the expertise of most professors. Moreover, he was interested in physics, astronomy, and linguistics and often borrowed more humanities-related books. Despite Carl Friedrich’s enormous abilities, he was not arrogant, and his peers remembered him as a modest young man. The university years represented a period of bursting with innovative ideas that changed the world.
Adult Life
Gauss lived an ordinary life, though he encountered tragic events. His first wife, Johanna Osthoff, died a month after the birth of the third child, Louis, who also died later being a 5-month-old baby (Famous Scientists). Later, the mathematician married Johanna’s friend Wilhelmina, who also gave birth to three children. In addition, Gauss loved his mother and took her to live at his home for the last twenty years of her life.
Against his family background, Carl Friedrich continued to develop and gained new achievements. The scientist made essential discoveries in number theory, which he considered “the queen of mathematics” (Famous Scientists). Later, Gauss published Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, the work that laid the foundation of the modern number theory. He developed the quadratic reciprocity law, whose formulation serves in modern modular arithmetic (Famous Scientists). Moreover, Gauss is also the founder of congruence, which was a part of the mathematician’s approach to the mentioned theory. Because of this, Gauss’ contribution to number theory is often compared with that of Euclid for geometry.
Nevertheless, the scientist’s field of interest also reached astronomy, among others. At the dawn of the nineteenth century, Giuseppe Piazzi, an Italian astronomer, discovered a star-like object moving as same as many planets or comets, but his observations were interrupted, and the object was lost (Wittman 200). However, Gauss assisted his Italian colleague by inventing a new orbit-calculating approach, which helped to locate the object, identify its orbit, and distance from the sun. In this way, the dwarf planet called Ceres was discovered.
How the World Has Been Affected
Carl Friedrich made significant contributions to physics, which also made him famous. Notably, the developments were made together with Wilhelm Weber, a young physicist, who was inspired and supported by an older colleague. They defined the magnetic field of the Earth using grams, seconds, and millimeters, which gave momentum for SI units. One of the famous inventions was the telegraph working with the help of a binary alphabet code (Famous Scientists). Kirchoff’s circuit laws were first discovered by Gauss and Weber. This law explains the work of voltage and current, which is widely used today for various devices and appliances. Due to his immense knowledge and being a professor, Gauss still had an extraordinary view on teaching — he felt an aversion to the standard ABC-teaching approach and said that by doing this, “professor loses his noble time” (Famous Scientists). Thus, Carl Friedrich Gauss is a distinguished multi-field scientist and outstanding educator.
Conclusion
Carl Friedrich Gauss became famous for his breakthrough ideas and developments that dramatically affected the world. He was a modest man who devoted his life to science and family. Although Gauss endured some life tragedies, his personality was attracted by his vast knowledge and scientific contributions.
Works Cited
Famous Scientists. “Carl Friedrich Gauss.” Famousscientists.org, Web.
Gray, Jeremy John. “Carl Friedrich Gauss. German Mathematician.” Britannica, Web.
Magnet Academy. “Carl Friedrich Gauss.” National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Web.
Wittman, Axel D. “Carl Friedrich Gauss and the Gauss Society: A Brief Overview.” History of Geo- and Space Sciences, vol. 11, 2020, pp. 199-205. Web.