GAUSS, CARL FRIEDRICH,

born April 30, 1777, Brunswick died Feb. 23, 1855, Gttingen, Hanover original name Johann Friedrich Carl Gauss German mathematician who had a long career in the applications of mathematics to astronomy, geodesy, and physics. Gauss was a prodigy, particularly in mental computation. In secondary school he distinguished himself in ancient languages and mathematics, and he conceived almost all his fundamental mathematical discoveries by the age of 17. At the age of 22 he obtained his doctorate from the university at Helmstedt; in his thesis he developed the concept of complex numbers and proved the fundamental theorem of algebra. Two years later he published his theory of numbers, one of the most brilliant achievements in the history of mathematics. In 1807 he became professor of astronomy and director of the observatory at the University of Gttingen, where he remained for the rest of his life. Gauss provided a new way for calculating the orbits of asteroids and the theory of squares. He contributed theoretical studies of the size and shape of the Earth and introduced the Gaussian error curve. He was a pioneer in applying mathematics to gravitation, electricity, and magnetism and developed the related potential theory and real analysis. His Collected Works were published over a long periodfrom 18631933.